
Copyright N^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



/ \^ 



# 




HOW TO WIN FORTUNE 
BY INVENTING 

COUCHED IN A READABLE STORY. 



CONTAINING COPIOUS DEMONSTRATIONS. ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS. EXAMPLES AND SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ON 

How to Make Commercially Valuable Inventions; 
How to Acquire a Knowledge of Mechanics; 
How to Invent Elaborately and Methodically; a i 
How to Make Money Out of Patent Rights; S* 
How to Approach and Interest Capitalists ; $ 

How to Build Models Economically; 
Gists of Patent Laws, Etc., Etc. 



By CHARLES S. LABOFISH. 
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR IN PATENT CAUSES. 




Published by the Author, 
CHARLES S. LABOFISH, 
RALSTON BUILDING. 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 



''A 



Copyright 191 i 

BY 

CHARLES S. LABOFISH 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



"V ■" 



BALTIMORE CITY PRINTING 
AND BINDING COMPANY 



©CI.A297483 



(f "Knowledge is that which, next to virtue, truly 

and essentially raises one man above another." 

— Addison. 






<. 



PREFACE. 



Knowledge is the mighty power which raises one in- 
ventor above a thousand uninformed inventors. With a 
\ thorough knowledge of all the ins and outs leading to 
financial success by inventing, one who is endowed with 
even a limited measure of inventive ingenuity has a fair 
chance to win fame and fortune by inventing. Without 
such knowledge, tens of thousands of inventors fail to 
realize on their inventing. 

Millions of guide and hand books, booklets and circulars 
are annually distributed gratis among inventors. Very 
naturally these books and booklets teach the inventor what 
the distributors want him to know, not what he ought to 
know. In consequence whereof, the majority of inventors 
grope in Cimmerian darkness and meet with harrowing 
d isappointments. 

There are several books on how to make money out of 
patents. But before one can make money out of a patent 
he must have a patent that is worth money; before one 
can get a patent that is worth money he must have an in- 
vention that is legally entitled to such a patent ; and before 
one can make such an invention and get such a patent he 
must have the know^ledge contained in this book. 

Tens of thousands of inventors misspend their talents, 
sink large sums of money, and waste their most brilliant 
opportunities for financial success by inventing for want 
of the very knowledge contained in this book. 

He who would win fortune by inventing must have a 
commercially valuable invention. A commercially valu- 
able invention consists of a legally-recognized invention 
that is commercially desirable, and a legally-valid patent 
that is commercially acceptable. His invention may be a 
mere improvement in mouse traps, in collar buttons, in 
pots and pans, in pens and pencils, in any of the tens of 
thousands of articles of commerce, small or large, simple 
or intricate. But unless it comprehends all the four essen- 
tials of a commercially valuable invention, the wooer of 



6 PREFACE. 

fortune by inventing can win nothing but frowns from 
that severely-exacting, mythical dame — Fortune. 

This book defines and expounds the four essential re- 
quirements of a commercially valuable invention with all 
the detail necessary to a clear comprehension. To facili- 
tate the consummate digestion of the various subjects 
herein treated, and to make its reading interesting to 
young and old of both sexes, the book is written in the 
vein of a narrative in which the characters of the story are 
taught the art of making commercially valuable inven- 
tions and all the important ins and outs conducive to 
financial success by inventing. The reader is thus in- 
structed and amused at the same time. 

The narrative style of this work has many other advan- 
tages over the usually dogmatic lecture or discourse style. 
It facilitates the giving of specific instructions without 
presuming upon the intelligence of the reader ; it fires the 
reader's mind with an ardent ambition to emulate the 
achievements of others; it affords the reader an insight 
into the natural tendencies of the uninformed inventor to 
commit errors and make blunders which in every instance 
culminate in financial disaster, and thus puts him on his 
guard; etc. 

With this book before him, he who is detemiined to win 
fortune by inventing has a personal instructor and legal 
adviser at his elbow. The author of this book is a practi- 
cal mechanician and patent attorney. This book is the re- 
sult of large and varied actual experience with the produc- 
tion and disposition of patents and inventions, legal and 
technical knowledge, and studious observations of effects 
and consequences tending to financial success or failure 
extending over a period of twenty years. The instruction, 
information and advice herein contained may therefore be 
fairly relied upon. 

The Author, 
CHARLES S. LABOFISH. 

Washington, D. C, October, igii. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

A Tragic Story of a Financially Embarrassed Youth, Couch- 
ing A Discussion on the Pros and Cons of Inventing. 
Pages II to 29. 



PART n. 

AN EXPOSITION OF THE ART OF PRACTICAL 
AND PROFITABLE INVENTING. 

PAGE 

Lesson I. The Commercially Valuable Invention. S3 

II. The First Essential of a Commercially Valuable 

Invention 36 

m. The Second Essential of a Commercially Valuable 

Invention 42 

IV. How To Do the Inventing 46 

V. How To Acquire a Working Knowledge of Prac- 
tical Mechanics 50 

VI. The Knack of Practical Inventing 57 

VII. Comment On the Crude Model 63 

VIII. How To Invent Labor-Saving Machinery 68 

IX. Fortuitous Conceptions 80 

X. Court Criticism and Invite Suggestion 95 

XI. Gears, Their Names and Uses 104 

XII. Improvements Upon Improvements 11 1 

XIII, Kinds of Improvements to Invent 119 

XIV. Electro Mechanical Inventing 129 

XV. Foolish Inventions 137 

XVI. The Third Essential of a Commercially Valuable 

Invention 143 

XVII. The Free Preliminary Examination 146 

XVIII. Fool Patents 157 

XIX. How to Make Money Out of Patent Rights 162 

XX. Assignments and Contracts 187 

XXI. How to Build Working Models Economically. . . 192 
XXII. The Fourth Essential of a Commercially Valuable 

Invention 20a 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Frontispiece 

Plain Wire Cutting Nippers 47 

Lever of the First Order 53 

Lever of the Second Order 54 

Lever of the Third Order 54 

Compound Leverage 56 

Application of Compound Leverage 58 

Another Application Thereof 64 

Bobbin Winder y^ 

Log Sawing Machine 81 

Adjustable Utensil Support , 85 

Improvement Thereon 90 

Latch Lock 94 

Iron Gear Exhibition Machine 106 

Brass Gear Exhibition Machine 108 

Combined Caliper and Square 123 

Electro Magnet 132 

Electro Mechanical Device 134 

Mechanical Motor 163 

Most of these illustrations have been especially invented by 
the author for the purpose of illustrating the lessons. 



PART I. 
THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 



"Come then, oh care! oh grief! oh woe! 

Oh troubles ! mighty in your kind, 
I have a balm ye ne'er can know, 
A hopeful mind." 

— Vane. 



"Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve, 
And hope without an object cannot live." 

— Coldridge. 



The Despondent Youth. 

At the close of a very busy day I was leisurely ar- 
ranging a mass of jumbled papers that had accumulated 
on the desk during the day, deeply engrossed with the 
reminiscences some of them brought to my mind. My 
stenographer, Miss Sharp, a spruce nymph of rather 
finical propensities, was tranquilly flaunting her charm- 
ing face in the wee mirror in the clothes rack, adjust- 
ing her hat preparatory to leaving the office after her 
day's work. Her brother, Joseph Sharp, a pert stripling 
of seventeen years of age, an apprentice machinist by 
trade, sat recumbently in his sister's revolving chair, 
gyrating himself listlessly upon its screw, amusedly 
watching the deft performance of her nimble fingers 
as she was skillfully creasing and curving the decora- 
tive flora and fauna of her new summer hat. 

In the midst of this placidity, my nephew, William 
Swift, rushed impudently into my office without greet- 
ing me or the young lady, the idol of his admiration, 
nor her brother, his quondam crony. Swift slammed 
the door behind him, dropped impetuously into a chair 
at my desk, threw down his hat upon the floor with a 
violent bang, and slapped his thigh resoundingly with 
a mutter of utter disgust and dire impatience. 
, A glance at him frightened us all. His hair was 
disheveled, his eyes were wild with suppressed emotion. 



12 THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

his hands trembled, his Hps quivered. Altogether his 
ever lissom, cheerful person presented a lurid picture 
of petulant perturbation. 

"What is wrong, William ?" I inquired greatly alarmed. 

"Nothing serious. I am tired of living, that's all," 
he answered irascibly, bewildered and simpering languidly 
at my undue consternation. He was evidently uncon- 
scious of his own frightful ghastliness. 

"The deuce you are !" I exclaimed tremulously, fright- 
ened by the ominous reply. "A bright, intellectual, 
athletic young man of twenty-one years of age endowed 
with a fairly good education and a well requited trade 
is tired of Hving!" I continued reproachfully. The 
unusual pallor, almost cadaverous appearance, of his face 
and his somber, shocking remark nearly paralyzed me. 
I perceived that it was no mere capricious whim, but a 
cloud of serious despair that hovered over him and was 
apprehensive of some serious disaster. Miss Sharp, too, 
w^as shocked by his portentious remark; and so was her 
brother. The thought that a promising youth in full 
bloom of life and enjoyment of health is tired of living 
stayed the departure of the girl and her brother. They, 
too, thought something unusual had happened to him 
and turned their full gaze upon his drooped eyelids ; 
scrutinizing him sympathetically, patiently waiting to 
hear what had befallen him. 

William shook his head dejectedly and smiled dog- 
gedly, "Yes; bright, intellectual, young, education, and 
a trade, but unable to earn enough to support my aged 
and decrepit parents and myself," he returned moodily. 
"Since I quit the Government Printing Office I have been 
tramping every day from eight o'clock in the morning 
until five in the evening in quest of some suitable work, 
but can find none." 



LOST LUCRATIVE POSITION. 13 

I remained silent; reflecting upon the situation and 
meditating upon how I could possibly help him. I know 
how need, idleness, and the usual humiliation and em- 
barrassment of an applicant for a position act upon a 
haughty, youthful spirit of a hitherto careless youth, 
and sought words to console him. But Joseph Sharp, 
with a sigh of relief at the knowledge of the cause of 
Swift's distress, exclaimed encouragingly, "Oh, that's 
nothing. Will! I know dozens of young men out of 
work, yet none talks such foolishness. Cheer up, old 
boy! You have a pretty good trade. You'll find a job 
alright, alright." 

Swift shook his head somberly and murmured rue- 
fully: "A pretty good trade, yes. I wish I had never 
seen the inside of a printing shop. Even if I should 
find a job at printing I cannot hope to make so much 
as one-third of the wages I was making in the Govern- 
ment Printing Office." 

'^That's it," I said to myself. The fact that he is 
obliged to lower his standard of living works upon him 
so powerfully. Enforced retrenchment in one's style of 
living is indeed a matter very apt to drive a young and 
inexperienced person to desperation. William held a 
very lucrative position in the Government Printing Office 
and for some reason was cashiered. To a private printer 
his services, if they were worth anything, were probably 
worth not more than one-third of what he was earning 
before. He knew that and it worried him beyond en- 
durance. Thinking he may be in immediate need of 
funds or may have some plan whereby I could be of as- 
sistance to him, I asked him in a whisper, "Is there any- 
thing I can do for you?" 

"No, thanks," he replied convulsively; poignantly of- 
fended by my inquiry. "I have no immediate need of 
anything, except perhaps of some consolation or a bit 



14 THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

of advice. I came up thinking you may know of some- 
thing other than printing that I might take up with a 
certain degree of assurance of success. In fact, I con- 
fess, I don't know just what I came up for. I was 
brooding so much over the irony of my fate that life 
became a burden to me, and some inexpHcable impulse 
sent me up here." 

"Brooding over the irony of fate until life became 
a burden!" Miss Sharp mumbled audibly, dilating her 
exuberant eyes in bewilderment, "and all because of the 
loss of a job ! I should like to have a look at your face, 
Mr. Swift. I can hardly believe you are the young man 
I have had the pleasure of entertaining in my home 
recently." Swift looked up to her with a luminous, but 
mirthless, smile on his livid face; blushing and flushing 
from shame and embarrassment. She was the living ex- 
pression of his ideal, and he virtually worshipped her. 
Her comments on his thoughtlessly uttered portentous 
remark moved him to compunction. 

Swift, in his normal mood, is a fine specimen of a pre- 
possessing young man. The terrible change in his ap- 
pearance and manners rendered him almost impossible of 
recognition. 

"The loss of my position is to me more than the mere 
loss of a job. Miss Sharp," Swift answered hoarsely 
with a lingering smile on his parched lips, trying hard 
to appear pleasant. "No one knows another's burden. 
I am in a terrible predicament. I belong to several clubs, 
organizations, and associations ; and because of my ina- 
bility to pay the dues, I will now have to drop out of 
them. The loss of my position is a most awful bereave- 
ment to me, Miss Sharp. After four years of con- 
spicuous activity in society I will now have to begin to 
live the life of a recluse, move into small apartments, 
and lower my standard of living to a pauper's scale." 



ADMONISHED. 15 

''Then it is the loss of your time-killing club associa- 
tions you are bewailing/' the girl rejoined, smiling and 
making light of the repiner's forebodings. "Oh, ye of 
little faith!" she continued piously. "Life has many 
other sources of happiness and countless little pleas- 
antries which one may enjoy at much less expense than 
half a dozen club and lodge memberships, social parties, 
or any of your costly votaries. Why bewail the loss 
of a job that paid a little more money when the next one 
pays enough to live upon? Due submission to Provi- 
dential guidance and a little judicious scrimping would 
enable you to live on your curtailed income as happily as 
before. Brighten up, Mr. Swift, and take a little stroll 
with me down the Avenue." 

Swift gazed at her for a few moments, obviously 
undecided whether or not he should accept her invita- 
tion, and finally decided in the negative. He dropped his 
head into the palms of his hands with a deep sigh. The 
young lady's sapid little homily not only failed to relieve 
him of the hypochondriac, but flagrantly rendered his 
affliction more poignant. He blinked her gaze, winced 
restlessly, and wretchedly relapsed into his former state 
of lugubriousness. 

While I greatly admired the young lady's promiscuous 
objurgation and advice, I failed to appreciate the wis- 
dom of such animadversion and exhortation. The idea 
of persuading an able-bodied, sound-minded, enlightened 
youth — imbued with boundless voluptuous desires — to 
submit to forced scrimpedness and piously endure his 
harrowing bereavement indefinitely did not impress me 
favorably. 

Piously submitting to the chastisement of Fate is not 
only not a religious virtue, but a scathing subterfuge 
from moral duty to combat her manfully. 



16 THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

Moreover, I knew that preaching contentment with 
godliness to an enlightened, mundane, twentieth-century 
youth was not at all likely to quench his thirst for social 
distinction; nor assuage his hankering after living in a 
commodious house, reposing before a liberally provi- 
sioned table, and having sufficient funds at his disposal to 
gratify his habitual generosity. 

A being accustomed to live in an impregnated atmos- 
phere cannot thrive very well on rarified air. 

Thousands of well informed young persons who, like 
Swift, found themselves suddenly deprived of a pristine 
monetary resource failed to heed the trite admonition 
to resign piously to Providential guidance and be thank- 
ful for the privilege of ekeing out a miserable existence. 
In the absence of a possibility to recoup their losses 
they sought relief either by hurling their souls into 
eternity or by drowning their grief in insidious grog- 
shop mellifluents. Hence, nothing short of a well 
grounded prospect of restitution to their former level 
and a tangible hope for a still brighter future can possi- 
bly relieve such persons materially. 

Acting upon this cognizance I leaned over toward 
my disconcerted nephew and humored him: "You are 
right, William. Miss Sharp never felt the sting of want 
and humiliation so she cannot sympathize with you nor 
offer you practical advice. A light purse is a heavy 
curse. The advice she gave you is the standard reli- 
gionary article foisted upon the unfortunate by ascetic 
teachers and preachers of godliness whose idea was that 
God delights to see His creatures steeped in misery. It 
is perhaps good enough counsel where the case is really 
irremediable. But it won't do in your case. Were Miss 
Sharp in your predicament, being young and childishly 
foppish in her predilections and propensities, she would 
hardly content herself with the costless precious little 



HUMORED. 17 

pleasantries, great and grand a Divine gift to man- 
kind as they really are; but would probably bemoan her 
inability to hoard more trumpery as much as you do your 
inability to keep up with your friends. 

"Money is the root of all the blessings, comforts, and 
enjoyments our high state of civilization affords. Money 
is the only harbinger of our temporal enjoyments and 
the provident of our spiritual delights. With money 
a great deal of good can be done; without it, precious 
little of real value to our fellow men. Money, and 
plenty of it, is therefore what you need and money is 
what you should diligently seek to acquire. Not to make 
money your fetich, but to enjoy the good of the land 
that can be bought therewith and the fruition of the in- 
finite pleasure that is afforded by lending a helping hand 
to our fellow men when in need of financial aid. 

"Money carries a dulcet message to the human heart 
that, like happiness, is the supreme desideratum of man- 
kind. But, alas, in effect, it is only the wish to have 
money and the craze for frenzied exhilaration that the 
mass of mankind unconsciously cultivate. 

"Not scrimping, nor relapsing into an everlasting 
kthargy of contentment with godliness, but money, and 
plenty of it, is what you want, William. But how to 
get money is the all important question. Now, there 
are thousands of ways to get money, but they are not 
open to the impecunious individuals of ordinary intelli- 
gence. Stocks, bonds, real estate, and every other kind 
of revenue-yielding property-right, must first be bought, 
and that requires capital. The patent of invention is 
the only kind of valuable property-right that an earnestly 
ambitious individual can acquire without capital. By 
means of a gift [invention] of something that the people 
either need or want. Dame Fortune is easily won if you 
know how to court her. 



IS THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

"Now, what I can do for you, William, is to familiarize' 
you with the principles underlying the art of practical 
and profitable inventing. By means of a course of in- 
structions in the art of practical and profitable inventing 
I have recently devised, I am able to put you in a mental 
condition favorable to conceiving new and useful me- 
chanical principles and to instruct you on how to embody 
the new principles in the most practical manner, how to 
protect your inventions properly, and how to dispose of 
the property-right vested in the patent profitably. You 
may or may not make a great fortune out of your invent- 
ing, but if you will scrupulously follow the instructions 
I will give you, you are most likely to make some money 
out of your inventing and may reasonably hope for more, 
even for the acquisition of an immense fortune by your 
personal effort. With such prospects in view, you can 
afford to retire into seclusion for a while and devote the 
evenings of a few months time to the study and practice 
of the art of practical and profitable inventing. This 
will result in cutting out for a while a deal of expenses 
and thus enable you to live upon the wages you can 
command. After you have made some money from your 
inventing, you can rejoin your clubs. Your friends, 
I assure you, will gladly receive you and appreciate )^ou 
more than ever." 

Until the last few minutes my nephew listened to me 
attentively and hopefully. As I came to the proposi- 
tion I broached, he dropped his head to evade my gaze 
and mumbled something in an undertone. He shook and 
trembled more violently than before, obviously disap- 
pointed. Upon looking at him inquiringly he answered 
peevishly : 

"You may as well try to make a professional baritone 
of me when I have neither voice nor ear for vocal music. 
Nature denied me the gift of genius; what good would 



LACKS CONFIDENCE IN SELF. 19 

the knowledge of the principles of the art of practical 
inventing and of making inventions commercially valua- 
ble do me?" 

The question appealed to my stenographer quite logi- 
cally. I could tell by her impatient shifting that she 
agreed with him on this particular subject. But I paid 
no attention to her emotions and replied to my nephew 
with an impulsive **Tut, tut ! You don't know your own 
self, William. You are endowed with an inventive 
faculty that may be capable of great achievements. A 
practical knowledge of how to arouse that faculty and 
how to exercise your mental activity and acumen, some 
discretion, and a reasonable measure of moral courage is 
all you need to bring that faculty into play and make it 
yield a fair revenue." 

I knew my stenographer thought well of my nephew, 
but she never betrayed the slightest interest in him — 
she later confessed that she really had none. Now she 
became intensely apprehensive for his welfare. The 
girl stirred uneasily. I understood she had something 
to say. As my nephew remained silent, I encouraged 
her to express her mind freely whatever it might be, 
assuring her of being affable to relevant conversation. 
She blushed, smiled and said diffidently: 

"It is indeed very generous and kind of you to offer 
to spend your valuable time in teaching him the princi- 
ples of inventing. But I fear it may be a sheer waste of 
your time and energy and may result in a terrible disap- 
pointment to our mutual friend, Mr. Swift. Using his 
own premises, the vocalist conscientiously believes that 
every person could learn to sing as thrillingly as he 
does, if he only trained himself as persistently as he did. 
But as a matter of fact the vocal organs of all indi- 
viduals are not attuned alike. Some are attuned to sing ; 
others, only to speak melodiously ; still others, only suffi- 



2© THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

cient to talk modulately ; and still others, only to croak 
huskily. So, it seems to me, it is with inventing. Some 
minds are constituted to invent in the industrial arts; 
others, in the esthetic arts; still others, in the literary 
arts, and still others, in formulating financial schemes. 
The mass of mankind is obviously destitute of inventire 
ingenuity of any kind. Dryden says : 

Time, place, and action may with pains be wrought. 
But genius must be born and never can be bought. 

"Besides, thousands of inventors own patents from 
which they are unable to realize even so much as the 
cost of the patent," she concluded with a self-conscious 
smile. 

"In other words, Miss Sharp, your idea is that in- 
► venting for profit requires genius, and as genius must 
be born and never can be bought, none but the born 
geniuses can invent; as thousands of inventors never 
realize even so much as to defray the cost of the patents, 
inventing must be a profitless venture. Well, this is 
unfortunately the general impression, and because of 
that some of the most capable never give the subject a 
single thought. As a matter of fact the majority of the 
born geniuses are incapable of practical and profitable 
inventing. The mind of the born genius is too excited, 
and any attempt at inventing plunges his creation into 
the abyss of impractical and unprofitable complexity. 
This is one of the reason why so many thousands of 
patents never materialize, and lack of knowledge and 
earnestness, gullibility and impatience on the part of all 
the impromptu inventors are some of the others. The 
inventions of many born geniuses are frequently more 
curious than useful, and almost in every instance imprac- 
tical, and therefore commercially valueless ; and in many 
thousands of instances in which the inventions are be- 



CAUSES OF FAILURE. 21 

yond reproach, the fault Hes in the patents. Hence the 
failures you mentioned. 

"Practical inventing requires not flurried genius, but 
habits of calm and calculative observation and reflec- 
tion ; and profitable inventing requires, in addition there- 
to, just such knowledge as I propose to impart to him. 
Failure in any venture is almost in every instance 
traceable to lack of knowledge and cool, calm, deliberate 
action. With a fair knowledge of the rudimentary prin- 
ciples governing patents and inventions, a person of 
moderate temperament and studious habits has a fair 
chance to educe something new and useful of intrinsic 
commercial value." 

''But to educe something new and useful requires 
considerable ingenuity, if not actual genius," argued 
Miss Sharp earnestly, "and that Mr. Swift may not 
possess." 

"Yes, to educe something new and useful requires 
some ingenuity, Miss Sharp, but only so much as every 
sound-minded person of ordinary intelligence is naturally 
endowed with. But perhaps you do not know what 
'something new and useful' means, when speaking of 
inventing, and the possibilities of making immense for- 
tunes from an apparently most insignificant something 
new and useful. To illustrate how little ingenuity is 
required to educe something new and useful of intrinsic 
commercial value and thus make money by inventing, 
and often a lot of it, I will take the liberty of asking you 
why you use crimped hair pins in preference to the 
smooth-limbed ones." 

"Because the crim.ped hair pins do not slip out as 
easily as the smooth ones," stuttered the girl with a 
flush at the reference to her choice in personal effects. 

"Well, then, the profits that formerly went into the 
coffers of the manufacturers of the smooth-limbed hair 



22 THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

pins now go to that born genius, the inventor of the 
kinks in the hair pin, whom all the goveniments on 
earth consider justly entitled to, just because he was the 
first to conceive the idea. Did it require genius or 
considerable ingenuity to invent kinks in hair pins ? Cer- 
tainly not ! But it did require ej^ercise of the inventive 
faculty. The inventive faculty is as much a part of 
every human being as every other faculty in the human 
mind, only in most of us it is paralyzed from disuse." 

"Gee ! Do you call making kinks in a hair pin invent- 
ing? Why anybody can do that!" ejaculated Joseph 
Sharp convulsively. 

''Every improvement in a thing of use, no matter how 
simple or apparently insignificant that improvement may 
seem, if it is new and useful it is the act of invention in 
the eye of the law and the subject of a patent.. The 
fact that neither the manufacturer of the smooth-limbed 
hair pins nor the millions of w^omen that used hair pins 
ever since they have been invented have thought of 
kinking the limbs of hair pins in order to prevent them 
from slipping out easily proves that it is not a mere 
matter of mechanical skill, or, as Joseph says, everybody 
could do, but an act of invention. It is true that every- 
body else could have put a few kinks in a wire, but 
the patent law has it so that only the person who first 
thinks of putting in the kinks is entiteld to a patent there- 
for. Any person can attach a piece of sheet metal to 
the tip of a child's shoe, but only the first one who did 
it was entitled to a patent upon which he realized nearly 
two million dollars. Any person can put four rollers 
under the foot to skate upon, but only the one who first 
thought of it was entitled to a patent therefor and 
made one million dollars out of it." 

My nephew raised his head slowly and looked at mc/ 
curiously. "There are thousands upon thousands of 



EXAMPLES OF INGENUITY. 23 

scientists, engineers, mechanicians and mechanics who 
do nothing else but look for inventions; what on earth 
makes you think that I, who know absolutely nothing 
about mechanics, could successfully compete with them?** 

''There is no such a thing as competition in inventing. 
The act of invention is literally a happy thought — a lucky 
strike — a flash of intellectual brilliancy which in the 
nature of things is sooner or later likely to happen to 
every person who incessantly exercises his inventive 
powers, and after being duly initiated in the craft you 
are as likely to hit upon something of great commercial 
value as any of the others. 

''Indeed, so far as the conception of the cardinal prin- 
ciples of the invention is concerned, the most learned 
scientist, the cleverest engineer, the smartest mechanician 
or the most skillful mechanic has no pre-eminence over 
the illiterate backwoods man. Professor Langley of the 
Smithsonian Institute, assisted by a corps of scientists 
and mechanics, spent about $75,000 and twenty years 
time in his attempt to produce a heavier-than-air flying 
machine and accomplished just nothing. A poor me- 
chanic, a bicycle fixer, conceived the principles of the 
aeroplane and startled the world with his inventive 
achievement. 

"In countless millions of men and women the world 
over an inventive faculty of the highest order is pent up 
like a ferocious tiger in a small cage, raging to give 
expression to its power, and in the absence of knowledge 
how to do it legitimately, breaks out in crime. Millions of 
persons endowed with as great an inventive faculty as Mr. 
Edison, Mr. Westinghouse, or any of the renowned in- 
ventors of the past or present generations lived in dire 
poverty and died in total obscurity because of lack of 
an opportunity to learn how to exercise and utilize their 
natural talents. Thousands upon thousands of the finan- 



24 THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

cially embarrassed who sought rehef in obHvion could 
have found financial relief by the exercise of their inven- 
tive powers, if they had had an opportunity to learn how 
to do it. Thousands upon thousands of those who now 
resort to all kinds of meandering schemes to get money 
could get money honestly and honorably by the exercise 
of their inventive powers, if they only knew how to do it. 

"Among the countless millions who now eke out a 
miserable existence there are many who could better 
themselves by inventing, if they only knew how to go 
about it. Among the countless thousands who now own 
patents upon which they are unable to realize even so 
much as the costs of the patents many of them could 
have owned patents upon which they might have realized 
immense fortunes, if they knew what they ought to know 
about patents and inventions. 

"The knowledge of these facts prompted me to devise 
a course of instructions in the art of inventing and to 
formulate some expert information and advice on patents 
and on the disposition of patents. The study and prac- 
tice of these instructions will in no wise interfere witk 
one's regular vocation ; indeed, they will make one's work 
more interesting and will put the learner in a fair posi- 
tion to make practical and profitable inventions." 

Miss Sharp was now fully convinced of the intrinsic 
value of the knowledge I was offering to impart to him, 
and, after apologizing to me for her lack of forethought 
and due appreciation of my deep concern for my relative, 
touched his shoulder familiarly and affably remonstrated : 

"Well, then, Mr. Swaft, you better ask your uncle to 
tell you all about patents and inventions, and follow his 
instructions to the letter. You cannot now fail to per- 
ceive as well as I do that learning the art of practical 
inventing will open for you a new field of activity of 



OTHERS CONVINCED. 25 

unusually great financial possibilities. So cheer up, Mr. 
Swift, and make the most of the opportunity." 

Joseph Sharp was now aflame with enthusiasm over 
inventing, and exclaimed : "I wish I had the opportunity 
to learn how to invent. I would be practicing day and 
night and every minute of my life until I mastered the 
art thoroughly." But my nephew shifted uneasily at 
the girl's advice and mumbled: "I have no ingenuity at 
all. I could not invent even a kink in a hair pin." As 
she looked at him with feigned displeasure at his con- 
clusion, he began to fidget, wriggle, and squirm in his 
chair as if he sat on a hot stove. He darted furtive 
glances at the bystanders and involuntarily sighed out 
a deprecatory, "O Lord, I am lost !" 

My heart melted with pity. I had talked and argued 
and reasoned with him and showed him that he was not 
lost, but that on the contrary he stands a fair chance to 
make more money than he ever dreamed of. Having 
exhausted my stock of arguments and persuasions, I 
tried a little harshness and retorted: "You are right, 
William. You are lost. Lost among the millions of in- 
sipid repiners and suppiners who pine away all their 
lives in abject indigency rather than make an earnest, 
honest, well directed effort to rise to the level of pros- 
perity of their fellow citizens, and above if possible." 

*'You don't know my wretched plight, uncle," he 
whimpered mournfully. "Even if I should learn how to 
invent, the monetary compensation that may result from 
my inventing is still in the remote future, while I must 
have a regular, infallible, sufficient monetary resource 
right now. I shamefully confess that in my harvest 
days I failed to provide for a rainy day ; and now it seems 
nothing can save me from perdition. I have so many 
bills to pay the first of the coming month, that — " He 
dropped his head into the palms of his hands and broke 



2% THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

out in silent lamentation. A few minutes later he looked 
up to my stenographer and resumed his quandary. 

"If I appear pusilanimous it is because you do not 
know my financial straits, Miss Sharp." I pretended 
to divert my attention from him to a letter I picked out 
of the pile of papers and he appealed to the girl. 

Miss Sharp listened to the youth's jeremiade con- 
cernedly and looked into his drooped face compassionate- 
ly, deeply touched by the appeal and the seriousness of 
his dilemma. Her bosom heaved with pity. Swift 
read commiseration in her face, and so did I. I per- 
ceived she wanted to say something and motioned to her 
to go ahead by all means, for unless his mind is imme- 
diately diverted from his brooding, the Lord knows 
what may happen. 

Miss Sharp is a gentle, sympathetic, enlightened, tact- 
ful girl. Having failed to do so myself, I hoped her 
angelic chanting may bring him to himself. To my 
great consternation, the girl grinned at him derisively, 
like an enraged old vixen, and drawled out irefully: 

"I certainly do pity your lamentable unmanliness, Mr. 
Swift. Pardon my incivility." Swift jerked up his head 
with an air of stupefaction and glared at her appalled. 
"I am greatly disappointed in you indeed," she continued 
relentlessly. "The few good traits I so admired in you 
seem to be sadly occluded by your inability to cope with 
the present situation. You seem to be utterly incapable 
of grappling with the ordinary vicissitudes of life. And 
what is worst of all, you have not mettle enough in you 
to grasp Opportunity by the forelock when she is trail- 
ing at your very coat-tail. 

"What a paucity of common sense in a full fledged 
man!" she continued. "Do you expect to regain your 
social standing, maintain your standard of living and 
pay up your accumulated debts with brooding over the 



CHIDED. 27 

irony of fate, getting tired of living and asserting that 
of all men Nature created you a brainless soul? I 
have no patience with such an unmanly man. Come, 
Joseph, let us go," and began to pull on her gloves. 

Swift gasped for breath. Much as he tried he could 
not possibly utter a Avord. His tongue clove to the roof 
of his mouth. Large globules of cold perspiration oozed 
from his forehead. His whole person fluttered like an 
aspen leaf in a gentle breeze. His head was giddy as 
if he were in a violent whirl, and his heart was beating 
in his throat. The caustic reprimand seemed to choke 
him and press upon his aching heart as if he were under 
the influence of an incubus. But finally he managed to 
stammer out sulkily: "What is a man to do when he 
finds himself in such a precarious predicament ; compelled 
to move into a five-room cottage from an eight-room 
flat, and — " 

"A man to do!" reverberated his inexorable taunter 
ironically, pealing out a burlesque, rippling laugh that 
brought the janitor to the door and evoked a "Gee! 
What's the matter with you, sis?" from her prosaic 
brother who never dreamed that his sister was capable 
of such overwhelming blithesome hilarity. "Why your 
uncle told you what to do, and told you enough, I think. 
'Plough deep while sluggards sleep and you shall have 
corn to sell and keep' — the good old apothegm of all 
wise counselors. But you, it seems, are not man enough 
to go to the trouble of plowing unless you are paid for 
it in advance. You seem to be one of those lethargical 
beings who would rather not risk getting up an hour 
earlier. So sleep on, sir, sleep on. Come, Joseph. I 
have no apology to make for the frank expression of 
my mind." The lady wheeled around abruptly and 
strode toward her desk, picked up something and moved 
toward the door. 



28 THE DESPONDENT YOUTH. 

Language is utterly impotent to depict the distraught 
youth's mental anguish, and the lacerations in the wound- 
ed heart the girl's incisive, scouting laugh had made. It 
virtually stunned him. The violent trepidation of his 
knees shoved the chair he was sitting on closer to me 
and I could feel the heat of his feverish breath as if 
coming from a hot air furnace. I feared the youth may 
succumb to the harrowing anguish and lose his mind or 
drop dead. I was about to resume consoling him, but 
before Miss Sharp opened the door Swift had jumped 
to his feet. He intercepted her and planted himself be- 
tween her and the door. With tearful, violently trund- 
ling, inflamed eyes, fast beating heart and tottering 
knees, the youth stood before her in deprecatory posture 
and cried: 

"Miss Sharp, Miss Sharp, permit me to thank you 
for your just reprehension and good advice. I did not 
realize my position until you told me of it. I should 
have known that it is dastardly shameful and unmanly 
for a man of my age to flinch at the first stroke of 
adversity. Lack of self-reliance warped my judgment 
and impatience blinded my understanding. I should have 
known enough to be up and doing long before the 
starlight waned, but it took a woman's nudgings and 
proddings to wake me up and make me shake off the 
arms of Morpheus that clasped me in their embrace. Now 
that I am awake and fully realize my position I shall 
heed your good advice. Miss Sharp, and plow deep 
while sluggards sleep. I will gratefully avail myself 
of my uncle's kind offer and strive to battle cruel Fate 
manfully. I shall not rest until I have subdued her and 
compelled her to make amends for the humility for which 
she is responsible." 

The young lady instantly relented in her stern and 
belligerent attitude toward him and looked at him 



MAN'S MINISTERING ANGEL. 29 

benignly. She smiled at him sweetly, and proffering 
him her hand warmly congratulated him upon his 
transition from puerility to manhood. She expressed 
her earnest approval of his resolution with consider- 
able emotion and with eyes filling to the overflowing 
concluded with : *Xet us hope you will never again 
resort to brooding over the irony of Fate, Mr. Swift, 
instead of manfully battling and subduing her," and 
burst into tears. 

The sublimity of the situation recalled to my mind 
Scott's sestet: 

"O woman ! in our hours of ease 
Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, 
And variable as the shade 
By light quivering aspen made ; 
When pain and anguish wring the brow 
A ministering angel thou !" 



PART 11. 

AN EXPOSITION OF THE ART OF 
PRACTICAL and 
PROFITABLE 
INVENTING. 



'Let us then be up and doing 

With a heart for any fate. 
Still achieving, still pursuing, 

Learn to labor and to wait." 

— Longfellow. 



"Lend thy serious hearing to what I shall unfold." 

— Shakespeare. 



LESSON I. 
The Commercially Valuable Invention. 

On the evening of the following day my nephew ap- 
peared in quite a different mood. His countenance was 
beaming with a superfluity of eagerness and earnestness 
to learn the art of practical and profitable inventing that 
made Miss Sharp's heart throb with joy. 

I remembered Joseph's emotions and his sister's re- 
marks of the previous evening and invited them to join 
my nephew in the lessons. When all were conveniently 
seated around my desk I assumed the role of instructor 
and began : 

"•ly way of preamble I may here premise that to learn 
how to invent is of little consequence, as hundreds of 
thousands of inventors have made inventions without 
having previously learned how to invent. To learn how 
to invent elaborately and methodically is of great mo- 
ment as countless inventors have made some very grave 
mistakes and serious blunders in their inventing. But to 
learn how to make commercially valuable inventions is 
of the utmost importance. Indeed, it is practically the 
all important thing the aspirant successful inventor has 
to learn, as lack of this knowledge is responsible for 
most, if not practically all, the failures of inventors. To 
win forttme by inventing one must have a commercially 



34 THE RAVAGES OF IGNORANCE. 

valuable invention. The first question for us to con- 
sider is thus : What is a commercially valuable invention ? 

"An invented article of commerce that so soon as it is 
put on the market becomes very popular and begins to 
yield an immense fortune to its exploiters, is not neces- 
sarily a commercially valuable invention. The rubber 
tipped pencil, for example, was an invented article of 
great value to commerce, and 3'et it was not a com- 
mercially valuable invention. Its invention was not an 
invention in the eye of the law and the patent was there- 
fore rejected by the courts. Having no patent, the 
inventor of this immensely popular and valuable article 
of commerce could not demand compensation for his in- 
venting. Countless inventions that in the eye of the law 
are not inventions, are annually rejected by the Patent 
Office. Countless patents that in the eye of the patent 
buyers and investors are not patents, are annually is- 
sued by the Patent Office. Hence, the tens of thousands 
of disappointed inventors. 

"A commerciallv valuable invention is an invention 
for which the inventor can command adequate compen- 
sation for his inventing. The possessor of such an in- 
vention has a property right for which he may demand 
cash, a royalty income, or a share in the proceeds re- 
sulting from the exploitation of his invention commen- 
surate with the value of his invention to commerce. 

"Now, in order to make you remember the diiference 
between an invention and a commercially valuable in- 
vention, I am going to ask my friend Joseph a question. 
He being a sport ought to be able to answer it correctly. 
How many legs has a commercially valuable race horse — 
worth, say $5,000, Joseph?" 

Joseph, as will appear later, is a good inventor, but he 
was not a good listener, and he awoke as from a dream. 



MUST STAND ON FOUR LEGS. 35 

"I don't quite understand the question," he protested, 
very much puzzled at the irrelevancy of this query. 

"Do you understand the question, Miss Sharp?" 

"I think I do," she answered, not less puzzled than 
her brother. "A $5,000 race horse has four legs." 

"How much less than $5,000 would such a horse be 
worth if it had only three legs?" 

"$5,000 less," answered Joseph quickly. 

"Well, then, remember that, like a commercially valua- 
ble race horse, a commercially valuable invention must 
stand on four legs — essentials — and these are: 1st, a 
legally-recognized invention; 2d, a commercially-desira- 
ble invention ; 3d, a legally-valid patent, and, 4th, a com- 
m.ercially-acceptable patent. These four requisites are 
the four legs, pillars, or essentials of a commercially 
valuable invention. The invention may be as simple as 
kinks in a hair pin, but unless it stands on these four 
legs it is not a commercially valuable invention. When 
any one of these four legs is missing the invention is 
worth as much as a race horse with one of its legs miss- 
ing. Of the tens of thousands of unsold inventions now 
in existence, some of them stand on three legs, others 
on only two legs, and still others on practically no legs 
at all. Is it any wonder that they are unsalable? 

"I have undertaken to inform you on the art of practi- 
cal and profitable inventing which includes the making of 
commercially valuable inventions — inventions that will 
stand on all the four legs I have enumerated. The next 
question for us to consider is thus: What is a legally- 
recognized invention? 



"Law is the science in which the greatest 
powers of the understanding are applied to the 
greatest number of facts." — Dr. S. Johnson. 



LESSON 11. 

The First Essential of a 
Commercially Valuable Invention. 

"The first thing the inventor has to have is an inven- 
tion that is an invention in the eye of the law — a legally- 
recognized invention — in order to be able to demand a 
patent and to hold the patent against all attempts at 
impeachment. All matters of law must of course be left 
to the skill and knowledge of the patent attorney. But 
the inventor must be able to judge of the legality of his 
invention before he has spent time in working it out to 
the point of submitting it to the patent attorney. Ex- 
perience shows that in the absence of a clear under- 
standing of the underlying principles governing patents 
and inventions, deplorably many costly and harrowing 
blunders are committed by inventors against which I am 
solicitious to guard you. I will therefore reduce the 
gist of the patent law, in so far as respects the legality 
of the invention, to a single principle applicable to sev- 
eral kinds of inventions. By means of this principle, 
together with some exposition, you will, in a measure at 
least, be able to ascertain the legality of your inventions 
before you spend the necessary time to work them out 
and, as many inventors do, money in ordering applica- 
tions filled for unpatentable inventions which will either 



WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT PATENTABLE. 37 

be rejected by the Patent Office or, if passed, the patent 
will be canceled by the courts. 

"Inventing is the act of advancing the useful arts for 
the reward the Government is offering — the Patent. 
The useful arts comprise all sorts of processes and 
products ; that is to say, processes for manufacturing 
things and things capable of being manufactured by 
some process. That process may be a mechanical pro- 
cess, a chemical process, an electrical process, a manual 
process, or a combination of two or more of these pro- 
cesses, but the invention must be capable of being manu- 
factured by some process. Any invention or discovery 
that is neither a process for manufacturing a thing nor 
a product of some process of manufacture is not a patent- 
able invention, as it does not advance the useful arts. 
For this reason the mere principle of a new machine, 
apparatus, or process; the mere discovery of a new law 
in nature, a new mineral, or a new gaseous substance : 
the eduction of a new system of bookkeeping, a new 
system of stenography, a new system of memorizing, a 
new system of mesmerizing, a new game, or a new trick 
is not a patentable invention or discovery, as it is nol 
capable of being manufactured by any process of manu- 
facture. The means and mechanisms of the new ma- 
chine or apparatus ; the instrumentalities employed in 
utilizing the new law in nature, the new mineral, or the 
new gas ; or the implements employed in playing the 
new game or performing the new trick, are, of course, 
patentable, because they are capable of being manu- 
factured by some process of manufacture. 

"The arts are advanced either by conceiving new and 
useful functions hereitofore unknown and mechanical 
means for performing the same, or by conceiving new 
and useful improvements on things already known; the 
improvements containing principles of construction here- 



38 SMALL AND SIMPLE INVENTIONS. 

tofore either wholly unknown, or unknown only in that 
particular art. 

"By conceiving a new and useful function and the 
means for performing the same, or a new and useful im- 
provem^ent on a thing performing a well known func- 
tion, the inventor creates a machine, device, or thing 
heretofore unknown and thereby he advances the state 
of that particular art one step forward. For instance, 
by reconstructing the ordinary sewing machine so as to 
produce a sewing machine especially adapted to sewing 
up rents in, or sewing patches on, the welt of a finished 
shoe, the art of mechanical sewing is advanced to the 
extent that the sewing machine becomes of service to 
the shoemaker as well as to the tailor. By inventing an 
attachment, a darning attachment, for instance, to the 
sewing machine, the art of mechanical sewing is ad- 
vanced to the extent that the sewing machine becomes 
available for darning as well as for sewing. 

"But the arts may be advanced in a much less con- 
spicuous m.anner — indeed, in the ,most 'inconspicuous 
manner. So long as the act of advancing the art is the re- 
sult of exercise of the inventive faculty, the improve- 
ment, however simple and insignificant it may seem, is 
an invention in the eye of the law. As the act of ad- 
vancing the art must be the result of exercise of the 
inventive faculty, not of mere common sense, it becomes 
of consequence to know the difference between inventive 
ingenuity and common sense. 

"To make the bight of the ordinary hair pin, we dis- 
cussed yesterday, larger, in order to take in more hair^, 
or to make the limbs of the hair pin shorter, in order to 
be able to pin short hairs, or to make the hair pin out 
of celluloid instead of iron wire, would be an act result- 
ing from the exercise of common sense and therefore 
not a patentable invention. However great an advantage 



GIST OF PATENT LAWS. 39 

the mere change in the dimensions of a thing may effect, 
it is not a patentable invention, because a change of such 
a nature is the result of exercise of mechanical judg- 
ment, not of the exercise of the inventive faculty. But 
to make kinks in the limbs of a hair pin in order to pre- 
vent its slipping out easily, requires the exercise of the 
inventive faculty, as the inventor must first conceive the 
new and useful function — the idea of providing means 
for preventing the hair pin from slipping out easily — and 
then the means — the kinks in the linlbs which make the 
new function, or result, available for practical use. Kink- 
ing the limbs in a hair pin is a change in the construction, 
not in the dimension, of the hair pin, and such a change 
enunciates a new principle in the art of hair pin construc- 
tion, and this new principle creates a new article of 
manufacture — a hair pin possessing characteristics here- 
tofore unknown. 

"The gist of the patent law on the subject of invention 
is thus: Any new and useful function that is the result 
of a change in the structure of a thing, however slight 
that change may be, so long it is of a nature that required 
the exercise of the inventive faculty to educe it, is a 
patentable invention. The new function, result, or prin- 
ciple by itself, as previously stated, is not patentable, 
but it is patentable under the entity of the change that 
brought it into, or made it available for, practical use. 
In addition to the foregoing example of simple invention, 
the following few examples of patentable invention may 
serve as a criterion: 

"A small hole in the perforated disk of a lamp burner, 
through which an ignited match may reach the lamp 
vv^ck and thus enable the user to light the lamp without 
removing the chimney, has been patented. Kinks in 
hooks and eyes, in hat pins, in wire buckles, etc., have 
been patented. A piece of metal attached to the heel of 



40 LEGALITY OF INVENTION. 

a shoe, a piece of metal attached to the tip of a shoe, a 
piece of metal attached to a shoe or corset lace, a piece 
of tin over the cork of a beer bottle, and all sorts of 
needles, buttons, pins, clasps, buckles, nails, rivets, sta- 
ples, clips, tips, etc., have been patented. Large or in- 
tricate machinery, apparatuses, and devices are generally 
known to be patentable and, of course, need no illustra- 
tion. I may, however, add that any new and useful re- 
organization, simplification, or modification of an old and 
well known machine or device, even if it does not per- 
form a new function, if it enunciates new principles of 
construction and has, in consequence, a new mode of 
operation, it is a legally-recognized invention by reason 
of the new characteristics imparted thereto by the new 
mode of operation. 

'%egality of invention is such a profound and intri- 
cate subject that not only do thousands of patent attorneys 
make grave mistakes, but even the Patent Office often 
errs in its judgment one way or the other. If you hap- 
pen to have an invention to which the principle I laid 
down for you does not fit it exactly, don't take any 
chances with it in deciding its status one way or the 
other, but submit it to a skillful patent attorney and 
be guided by his judgment. 

''The useful arts include chemical compositions and 
configurations capable of reproduction by some process. 
In these, like in mechanical organizations, the arts are 
advanced by either consummate invention or mere im- 
provement. 

''Invention, as we have seen, is of two kinds, the in- 
vention of a new and useful function heretofore wholly 
unknown and the means for performing the same, and 
the invention of an improvement on a thing already 
in use or otherwise known to have already been in- 
vented. 



IMPROVEMENTS PREFERABLE. 41 

"A marked improvement on a thing already in use is 
generally, so far as the remuneration of the inventor is 
concerned, if protected by a patent of proper stamina, 
more certain of immediate financial success than the in- 
vention of a brand new thing or device. To introduce 
a consummately original process, machine, or thing re- 
quires a great deal of capital, many years of time to 
demonstrate its merits, and time and expense to educate 
the people to it, while to introduce an, improvement on a 
thing already in use does not. Every useful improvement 
on things already in use is hailed with delight by the 
users of that thing and eagerly sought after by the 
manufacturers of that thing. Fortune by improvement 
being thus the line of least resistence, we shall devote 
our attention to improvements on things already in use." 



^'If little labor, little are our gains, 
Man's fortunes are according to his pains." 

— Herrick. 



LESSON III. 

The Second Essential of a 
Commercially Valuable Invention. 

*'To win fortune by inventing, the aspirant must en- 
deavor to acquire a monopoly in something that the peo- 
ple either need [must have] or want [wish to have]. A 
monopoly in something that the people do not want is, 
of course, worthless. As an example of commercially 
desirable and undesirable invention, experience shows 
that the people need all kinds of article-vending machines 
and want all kinds of amusement-vending machines, but 
have no need of a toilet-paper vending machine [one 
of the countless of undesirable inventions patented]. 
Wherever a public toilet room is installed, the munificent 
instailators are generous enough to furnish the necessary 
toilet paper. A patent on a toilet-paper vending machine 
is in consequence a monopoly in something the people do 
not need. 

"The people, it must be borne in mind, never know 
what they need or want. It is the inventor's business to 
find out what things that are not yet in use the people 
might need or want. Indeed the people never need nor 
want anything until the thing is put on the market. 
Then, if the thing put on the market is something they 
either need or want, they want it badly and gladly pay for 
it generously. Before the invention of the fountain pen 



SYSTEM OF AGGRESSION. 43 

and the thousands upon thousands of indispensible 
things now in common use, the people did not know that 
they needed a fountain pen or any of the thousands of 
things they now could not do without. Before the inven- 
tion of the accordion and the thousands upon thousands of 
amusing and entertaining things now in common use, the 
people did not know that they wanted such things. And 
since it is the inventor's business to find out what the 
people need or want, the first thing th« inventor has to 
learn is how to discover a subject for inventing that 
when invented and put on the market the people will 
either need or want. 

"Needs or wants of the people are often discovered 
by mere chance or accident. But the ambitious inventor 
must have a definite S3^stem of aggression and reach 
out for new needs or wants, as the chance or accident 
may never happen to him. 

"Studious observation, thoughtful introspection, and 
judicious analysis are the means by the aid of which 
a public need or want is readily discovered wherever 
one exists. 

"At the present stage of our industrial progress the 
inventor can do little more than invent improvements on 
things already in use. At any rate, to begin with, we 
will try a simple improvement on a thing already in use. 

"Drive this twelve penny nail through these two boards, 
Joseph, and nip off the projecting end with these brand 
nevvT, full size, standard wire-cutting nippers," I ordered 
the lad as I handed him two boards, a nail, a hammer, and 
a pair of nippers I had at hand for this purpose. 

"Do the same, William. 

"Now you do it. Miss Sharp. 

"Very well. 

"As I am seeking to discover a necessity for improve- 
ment, I was intently watching every movement of your 



44 RULE FOR INVENTOR'S GUIDANCE. 

hands while you were nipping off the nail ends and ob- 
served that even Joseph, who is a mechanic and in con- 
sequence is always exercising his muscles, exerted undue 
squeezing force on the handles of the nippers in his 
effort to nip off the nail end. Miss Sharp could not do 
it at all. She only nicked the nail end and hit it with 
the nippers to and fro until it broke off. You may 
make it a rule for your guidance that anything that is 
made to be operated or actuated [not wielded like an 
ax or a sledge hammer] by human power or muscular 
force must be so constructed as to enable even grown 
children to use it with ease and facility. If the tool, 
device, or machine designed to be operated by muscular 
force or body power is not so constructed that even 
children of fifteen years of age can use it with ease and 
facility, there is need of making it so, even though 
women and children do not use such things at the present. 
''The bicycle, for example, in its early stage could 
not be propelled by any person but a strong man. It 
was then a foregone conclusion that bicycles were for 
men only. No one ever dreamed that the bicycle would 
ever be used by Women and children. But once it was 
adapted to their use it came to be used by women and 
children. The sewing machine is another example, and 
there are now hundreds of tools and machines used by 
women and children that before required the power 
and muscle of strong men to use them. Now, if these 
cutting nippers were reconstructed so as to make them 
cut with ease in the hands of delicate men and even 
women and children, there are jewelers, watchmak- 
ers, parasol makers, printers, milliners, artificial flower 
makers and householders that have occasional use for 
nippers to cut off a wire about the size of a twelve penny 
nail. The improvement would thus extend the use of 



IMPROVEMENT INCREASES DEMAND. 45 

the cutting nippers and in consequence be a lucrative 
invention. 

''Thus, whenever a tool, device, or machine actuated 
or operated by human power or muscular force is not 
so constructed that grown children can use it with ease, 
the making it so is a public need. In the present in- 
stance we have, by means of close observation and an 
analytical survey of the financial possibilities of the 
needed improvement, discovered a necessity for recon- 
structing the nippers so as to make them cut with less 
squeezing force. The discovery of this function, or re- 
sult, is the foundation of a commercially desirable in- 
vention. The invention, it is true, is yet to be made. 
But the discovery of the public need or want is in count- 
less instances more difficult than the making of the in- 
vention to supply that need or want, particularly so in 
small and simple inventions or improvements, as we will 
see later. 



"We cannot know anything of Nature but by 
an analysis of its true initial causes; till we 
know the first springs of natural motions, we 
are still but ignorants." — Clanville. 



LESSON IV. 
How to Do the Inventing. 

"Having conceived the idea that the cutting nippers 
need improving, and that the result to be attained is to 
make them cut with less squeezing force, we proceed to 
trace the effects to the causes. The fact that the nippers 
require great squeezing force to make them cut off the 
nail end proves conclusively that there is a faulty per- 
former of a function somewhere in their constituency. 
In order to detect the faulty performer of a function in 
anything that is actuated by human power or muscle 
we must trace first, the movement of the hands or feet 
required to use the thing; second, the function or func- 
tions the thing is thus made to perform; and third, the 
operative principle of the thing; that is to say, that 
which makes the thing perform the final result under the 
influence of such movements of the hands or feet. 

"Let us now resolve these nippers into their com- 
ponent parts and proceed to detect the faulty performer 
of the function in nipping off the nail ends. 

"THB MOVEMENT— ^o effect cutting, the handles 
of the nippers must be squeezed in one hand. 

"THE FUNCTION— The two jaws bite and sever 
the nail. 

''THE OPERATIVE PRINCIPLE— The converging 
of the two handles of the nippers forces the jaws to bite 



ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURE. 



47 



the nail ; the more the handles converge the deeper is the 
bite. 

"The movement we see at once is unalterable. 

''The function, or the final result, is always immu- 
table. 

"The operative principle, too, appears to be faultless; 
the more the handles converge the deeper is the bite, 
only our hands are not strong enough to converge the 
handles sufficiently for the jaws to bite off the nail end. 

"Let us now analyze the structural features of the 
nippers and see where a change could be made that 
would result in making the nippers cut with less squeez- 
ing force and thus accommodate them to the muscular 
action of the various users' tender hands. 

"What do the nippers consist of? 




"Two metal bars, each curved and sharpened to a 
knife edge at one end, crossed and jointed loosely near 
the curved and sharpened ends. 

"Why are the two bars crossed and jointed at the 
curved and sharpened ends? 

"X— 

"Hold one of the handles of the nippers in your left 
hand and with your right hand move the free handle 
upward and let it drop from its own weight. What 
does the free handle resemble? 



48 THE PROBLEM. 

**A lever of the first order fulcrnmed on the rivet near 
its curved and sharpened end. 

**Now why are the two levers fulcrumed near the 
curved and sharpened ends? 

''For the purpose of obtaining greater leverage in 
the handles. The nearer the fulcrum is to the resistance 
the greater is the leverage ; the greater the leverage the 
less force is required to make the jaws bite. 

"Then it is the leverage that makes the nippers bite ! 

"It is obvious that if the handles of the nippers were 
twice the length they now are, the nippers would cut in 
the goldsmith's hand as readily as they do in the black- 
smith's. But lengthening the handles would make the 
nippers heavier and the handles more divergent, and 
thus clumsy and awkward, if not at all impossible, to 
handle. 

"We have now found out the fault and also the remedy. 
But the remedy, while it would cure the fault to perfec- 
tion, is more objectionable perhaps than the fault itself, 
as it resolves itself into undesirable clumsiness and 
aw^kwardness. 

"Gears and screws are mechanical substitutes for lever- 
age, but none of these can be used in the present in- 
stance. What we must have is leverage without long 
levers. What do you suggest, Joseph?" 

"I can think of no way of obtaining leverage with 
short levers," answered the lad listlessly. 

"What do you say, William?" 

Smiling embarrassed. "Ask me something easier, 
uncle. If Joseph, who is a mechanic, does not know 
how to obtain long levers with short ones, you surely 
don't expect me to know it. I suppose you will pre- 
scribe for us a course of study of certain books on mechan- 
ics. At the present I am as green as a persimmon. I 
have not the slightest knowledge of mechanics." 



BRAIN VERSUS BRAWN. 49 

"Neither have I," interjected Miss Sharp, with an air 
of disappointment in her mien. "I guess Joseph will be 
more benefited by the lessons than either of us. He 
knows all about machinery and we will have to learn 
something of mechanics out of books." 

''Brawn and brain are two widely different forces," I 
returned. ''The machinist bears the same relation to the 
inventor as the carpenter does to the architect or the 
soldier to the general. The latter plans and the former 
executes. The inventor's training is entirely different 
from that of the machinist's. The most skillful machinist, 
if he is not either a born or a trained inventor, cannot 
invent. I have undertaken to inform vou on the art of 
inventing and will show you how to acquire the necessary 
knowledge of practical mechanics." 



"From mine eyes my knowledge I derive." — Shakespeare. 

LESSON V. 

How to Acquire Working Knowledge of 
Practical Mechanics. 

Appi^ied Mechanics. 

"Every intelligent man or woman has at his or her 
elbow a leafless volume of mechanical principles which 
he or she may study with great interest and pleasure 
and without the loss of time every hour of the day ; and, 
if occupied with manual labor, during working hours as 
well. This leafless volume of practical mechanics when 
mastered is sufficient knowledge of mechanics for all 
practical purposes of the aspirant practical inventor. 

"Every person living and moving in a civilized com- 
munity operates mechanical devices almost every hour 
of the day.. When we open or shut a door ; lock or un- 
lock a door; wind up a clock or a watch; turn on or off 
the gas ; hght a lamp ; use a comb, a knife, a fork, a spoon, 
a pair of scissors, a carpet sweeper, a clothes wringer, 
a sewing machine, an ice cream freezer, etc., we operate 
mechanical devices. When we walk the streets of a 
city we see countless mechanical movements in operation. 
When we move our hands or feet we operate mechanical 
movements in our own physio-mechanical organization. 

"The practical inventor must be thoroughly drilled in 
mechanics. In fact he must be a sort of pansophist — 
know everything. But he must gather his knowledge not 



TENACITY ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVEMENT. 51 

from books, but from studious and methodical observa- 
tion and scrutiny of mechanisms in practical operation. 
And thus, what you need, at least to begin with, is not 
book study, but a few instructions and some information 
on mechanics leading to the acquirement of a working 
knowledge of mechanism from methodical and studious 
observation. 

"We are learning to become practical inventors, and 
a practical inventor never abandons a feasible project. 
We have concluded that in the present instance no sub- 
stitute for the lever can be employed. Yet, what we 
must have is leverage without long levers. Try to re- 
call to mind incidents in your life in which you have 
seen the use of a lever and tell me of the most striking 
use ; that is to say, a case out of the ordinary. 

"Miss Sharp, I want you to take as much interest in 
the lesson as the young men do. You are just as likely 
to hit upon a good invention as any of us. Tell me what 
you know of the use of a lever." 

"Hardly," smiling and blushing embarrassed. "But I 
listen attentively. I have seen a man raise a capsized 
wagon with a pole which is usually called a lever. I 
don't remember of having seen any other kind of lever." 

"What do you know about the use of a lever, William ?" 

"I have seen levers in printing presses, but I don't un- 
derstand their action. I have also seen a corner of our 
woodshed raised with a pole and a crowbar which I 
know are usually called levers, but I don't know of any- 
thing out of the ordinary." 

"And you, Joseph?" 

"I have seen all kinds of lifters and levers in ma- 
chinery, and' crowbars and such levers as are usually used 
about machinery, but I know of nothing out of the ordi- 
nary." 



52 PRINCIPLES OF THE LEVER. 

"The lever is the all important element in applied 
mechanics. A thorough knowledge of its action and 
application is therefore essential. I have no desire to 
bore you with an exhaustive explanation of the theory 
and practice of the lever, or tire you with mechanical 
erudition of any kind. Books on mechanics can be had 
everywhere, and at prices within the reach of all. To 
the advanced practical inventor book knowledge is help- 
ful, though not essential. A brief and lucid exposition 
of the practical phase of the lever, its action, its varieties, 
and its application is, in my opinion, all you need for 
all practical purposes of mechanical inventing. 

"The principle of the lever is the basis of the greater 
part of all the mechanism in practical use. I shall there- 
fore illustrate its action and its practical application with 
sketches and give some examples of the lever in practi- 
cal use. 

"The paramount principles upon which practically all 
the known mechanical movements operate are two : The 
lever and the inclined plane. The principle of the lever 
is the fundamental principle of the pulley and the wheel 
and axle; that of the inclined plane is the fundamental 
principle of the screw and the wedge. 

"The lever is a rigid bar held rockably on an unyield- 
ing body, called the fulcrum. The lever is used to aug- 
ment the power required to move or raise a given weight. 
The value of the lever as a mechanical power depends 
upon the position of the fulcrum in relation to the 
weight to be raised. Power is applied to one end of the 
lever to overbalance the weight it is required to raise or 
move, just as in the use of a pair of balance scales. But 
in the case of balance scales, the fulcrum being in the 
middle of the cross bar, the powder is equal to the weight. 
The balance bar cannot therefore be termed a lever, be- 
cause by the term lever we understand a mechanical 



KINDS OF LEVERS. 



53 



purchase or power. But the steel yard can. The steel 
yard is a lever. A mechanical power. Because in its 
normal condition the ball at the end does not equal the 
weight it overbalances. It is the disposition of the ful- 
crum, or in modern steel yards the disposition of the 
power [the movable weight], in relation to the fulcrum 
that causes the ball of the steel yard to overbalance the 
weight. 

''There are three kinds of levers. To facilitate elucida- 
tion I will sketch them out for you and mark them con- 
secutivelv. 




v////////'///// y///^77z 



^IG 1. 



'The lever marked Fig. 1 is termed a lever of the first 
order. This arrangement is the most powerful of levers. 
The weight W, represented by a corner of a woodshed, is 
overbalanced by placing the fulcrum F as close to it as it 
is possible and bearing or pulling downward the opposite 
end of the lever at P, which denotes power, as indicated 
by the arrow. 



54 



OPERATION OF THE LEVER. 



"The lever marked Fig. 2 is termed a lever of the 
second order. This lever uses the ground G for a ful- 




///yy/^^//y//y//////////// ///////////- 



FIG. 2. 

crum and the opposite end of the lever is pulled upward, 
as indicated by the arrow. 

''The lever marked Fig. 3 is termed a lever of the 
third order. This lever uses for a fulcrum another build- 
ing or object B at the opposite end, which must be of 
greater weight than the weight to be raised, and is pulled 
upward about in the middle. This is the poorest, or 




'yyw>y//yy///////// ////// yy//////AV^ 

FIG. 3. 

most inefficient, form of lever. But it has its uses 
where — until the inventor shakes the theory — neither of 
the other two kinds can be employed. 



USES OF THE LEVER. • 55 

"When we pull a nail with a claw hammer or with 
a pair of tongs we are using a lever of the first order; 
the curve in the hammer or in the tongs being the ful- 
crum. When we remove the metal cap from a beer bot- 
tle with the regular beer bottle opener or open a tomato* 
can with the usual can opener, we use a lever of the 
second order. When we carry a spadeful of dirt, or a 
shovelful of coal, or lift a stove lid with a lifter we are 
using a lever of the third order. Thus, the lever, even 
in its rudimentary forms, constitutes an important ele- 
ment in practical mechanics and is used extensively in 
every home, office and works, and by every active person 
perhaps every hour of the day. 

"You have seen many levers and peculiar uses of the 
lever, also numerous mechanical movements in opera- 
tion containing levers from which you could have de- 
rived mechanical knowledge enough to solve the present 
problem in a few minutes ; but, as you were not practicing 
inventing, you, like every other person not an aspirant 
inventor, paid no attention to them and of course cannot 
be expected to solve the present problem with facility. 
But with your present understanding of the principles 
of the lever I have just conveyed to you, and a little 
judicious retrospection you may be able to recall to mind 
a certain peculiar use of the lever you may have once 
seen." 

"I remember now a peculiar use of the lever I have 
once seen," exclaimed my nephew triumphantly after 
a few moments of thoughtful retrospection. "I once 
..watched two men raise the corner of our shed. I saw 
they inserted a pole under the sill and tried to raise the 
shed by pulling the pole upward. This, I now under- 
stand, is a lever of the second order which, sure enough, 
was ineffective. Next they brought a rock which they 
employed for a fulcrum and used the pole in the manner 



56 



THE COMPOUND LEVER. 



of a lever of the first order, bearing down on its oppo- 
site end; still could not budge the shed. One of the 
men then tried a scheme which worked nicely. He sub- 
stituted for the wooden pole an iron crowbar, which was 
considerably shorter than the pole, and then used the free 
end of the crowbar for a fulcrum for the wooden pole 
like this, 




and up went the shed." 

''There you have it. This teaches us that a lever act- 
ing upon a lever — which is technically termed a com- 
pound lever — augments the power of the lever without 
increasing its length. This is just w^hat we are looking 
fori 

"Now take this problem home, digest the lesson you 
have learned this evening, and then work out the prob- 
lem by applying the principle of the two levers to the 
nippers. Assemble here tomorrow evening at 5.30 with 
problem solved. Make your sketches as neat as you 
can." 



"Thought is deeper than all speech; 
Feeling deeper than all thought; 
Souls to souls can never teach 
What unto themselves was taught." 

— Cranch. 

LESSON VI. ' 
The Knack of Practical Inventing. 

Scanning the faces of my three pupils as they as- 
sembled on the evening of the following day for the 
second session, I noticed that Joseph's eyes were danc- 
ing, trundling, and gleaming luminously with the fire of 
an overwhelming triumphant achievement, while his sis- 
ter's seemed nonchalant and William's somewhat ap- 
prehensive. Joseph's entire frame shook. His jaw 
vibrated and his lips quivered from anxiety to unload his 
burden of joy and receive the reward of commendation, 
admiration, and praise. But as he, being a machinist, had 
some advantage over the others, I called on his sister 
first. Miss Sharp produced a sketch, looked askance at 
my nephew, and smiling pleasantly remarked very 
modestly : 

"I have studied last night's lessons thoughtfully and 
applied the principle of the two levers to the cutting nip- 
pers." Darting a furtive glance at her admirer and notic- 
ing a high tension on his facial indexes — evidently from 
fear of being surpassed — she resumed: "I have now 
hopes to become an inventor some day. My application 
of the principle of the two levers to the nippers may be 
crude and impracticable, but at the present it appears 
to me it is the only way possible to apply the principle of 



58 



THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT. 



a lever acting upon a lever and I am proud of my mental 
production even though it is crude and very primitive in 
its design. Here it is." 




"Why do you now hope to become an inventor, Miss 
Sharp? You doubted it yesterday." 

Blushing and casting furtive glances at the young 
men. "Things look quite different to me today than what 
they did yesterday. When, this morning, I carried a 
spoonful of oatmeal to my mouth, I knew I was operating 
a lever of the third order. When I depressed a type- 
VvTiter key I knew I was operating an inverse lever of 
the second order. When I released the carriage of my 
No. 6 Remington, I knew I was operating a lever of the 
first order. And so in a number of things I handled to- 
day, I traced the leverage to one of the three forms of 
levers. 

"It is owing to this tracing of the leverage of the 
things I see and handle every day that I have hopes to 
become a practical inventor. I admit, I seriously doubted 
it yesterday. When my powers of perception and con- 
ception will become trained by the constant application 
in the manner you suggested, and I have ascertained to be 
possible, and my mind will become stocked with the 
principles of the numerous mechanical movements I now 
see in operation on every step, I am sure I shall be able 
to make inventions. I will then know how to substitute 



THE KNACK OF PRACTICAL INVENTING. 59 

levers of the first order, which are most powerful, for 
levers of the second and third order, and thereby aug- 
ment the effectiveness of things in common use. This, 
I now understand, is often invention. Moreover, my 
abiHty to apply the principles of the crossed poles to the 
cutting nippers, which at first seemed utterly impossible, 
inspired that hope in me." 

''Excellent ! A few months' spare time spent in such 
exercise will place you in possession of a course in apK 
plied mechanics which no money can buy nor the best 
school, college, or university teach. You will find the 
continuous practice of tracing the leverage of co-acting 
parts of everything you use, handle, or have occasion to 
inspect will afford you great pleasure and amusement 
and wholesome instruction in mechanics, and supply 3^ou 
with ample material for invention or improvement to 
select from the most feasible. With a little practice all 
the weak points of construction and all the faulty per- 
formers of functions in the things you thus scrutinize will 
float before your eyes like straws on a swift current, and 
opportunity for valuable invention will, in the nature of 
events, offer itself. 

''Practical inventing is a knack. A knack, as the noun 
is defined in the dictionary, is a peculiar dexterity or apt- 
ness, usually acquired by long practice, that enables one 
to do a thing quickly and well. The knack of practical 
inventing, that enables the practical inventor to invent 
quickly and well, is acquired by pursuing the practice of 
tracing the leverage of co-acting parts of machinery one 
has occasion to use or see others use, and by tracing 
effects to their causes in the manner I have previously 
explained. 

"The principle of the lever in one of its forms is pres- 
ent virtually in everything that is used. When a top is 
spinning a lever is in operation. Drive a nail partly into 



60 ROTARY LEVERS. 

the periphery of the top and you will increase its rotary 
force incident to the lengthening of one end of the lever. 
But while the lever is practically ubiquitous, it is not 
always apparent. For instance, when we turn up or down 
a lamp wick we operate a lever; when we turn a door 
knob we operate a lever; when we wind up a watch we 
operate a lever. These are rotary levers. The effective- 
ness of such levers depends upon the size of the knob by 
which the lever is turned. We scarcely use a single 
thing without operating either a lineal or a rotary lever 
of some kind. 

"The benefits derived from tracing leverage and ef- 
fects to their causes are many, but the foUov/ing are 
the principal ones. In order to trace the leverage of 
co-acting parts we must studiously examine the shapes, 
forms, and positions of some parts in relation to others 
and mentally separate the various functions in the piece 
of mechanism. By tracing effects to their causes we 
learn methodically the various functions and the modus 
operandi of the mechanism and become familiar with the 
curves, lines, and forms of mechanical parts. With the 
one who adopts the practice of tracing leverage and 
effects to their causes it soon becomes a sort of a hobby, 
often a passion, that leads him mechanically to an ex- 
tensive inspection of the principles of the mechanisms 
of an entire class. 

''For instance, when we are sweeping with a broom 
and think of the leverage the operation affords us, we 
perceive that we are using a lever of the third order for 
which, knowing its ineffectiveness, we cultivate a dislike. 
Instantly, curiosity asserts itself and excites in us a 
desire to find out what is the rotary leverage of a carpet 
sweeper. Then, when we walk in the street and see the 
street sweeping cart, having some knowledge of the 
operative principles and of the leverage of the carpet 



RESULTS OF OBSERVATION. 61 

sweeper, we are naturally prompted to stop and inspect 
and to trace the leverage of the street sweeping machine. 
Next, when we see the street car snow-sweeper in opera- 
tion, we stop to examine that machine and compare its 
principle of operation with those of the others. Then, 
when we conceive an improvement In a carpet sweeper 
we know, in a measure at least, what is in practical use 
in the class of rotary sweepers and quickly ascertain, 
by comparison, whether or not the function of our con- 
ception is new and unknown, whether or not our mechani- 
cal means is an equivalent of something that is already 
in existence, and whether or not our scheme is commer- 
cially desirable. We thus invent quickly and well. 

"Another example of how such practice educates the 
aspirant practical inventor, suppose our subject of in- 
spection is a door lock. We first try the two levers, the 
knob and the key, by which the latch and the bolt of the 
door lock are actuated. Introspecting into our feelings 
we find that the upper lever, the knob, moves the latch 
easily, while the lower lever, the key, offers some resist- 
ance and the bolt it moves produces a grating and snap- 
ping noise. If we know nothing of lock construction, our 
first impression is that as the knob is so much larger 
than the head of the key, the knob does, by reason of its 
greater leverage, move the latch so much easier than the 
key does the bolt. But as we aspire to become practical 
inventors we must take nothing for granted, but care- 
fully verify our impressions. We remove the lock and 
unscrew the lid. Upon investigation we find that the 
movement of the bolt is im.peded by a number of tumb- 
lers, and that when these are removed the bolt is moved 
by the key much easier than the latch is moved by the 
knob, notwithstanding the difference in the leverage, 
for the latch moves against the tension of a spring while 
the bolt does n6t. Next we study the action of the 



62 STUDY OF CLASS ESSENTIAL. 

tumblers and ascertain their function. We incidentally 
ascertain why the bit of the key is notched and recessed 
and thus become educated in lock construction. 

"A thorough study of the class in which one under- 
takes to invent is imperatively essential. The study of 
an entire class of machines, devices, or things may be 
readily effected by visiting the stores where such ma- 
chines, tools or devices are sold and inspecting those on 
sale. Such a study may be greatly enhanced by reading 
all obtainable catalogues, descriptive circulars, and adver- 
tisements of such machines, devices or things. 

"The most propitious opportunity for lucrative invent- 
ing has the factory worker and every person engaged in 
the art of reproducing things by mechanical means. If 
you can make your printing press throw out every hour 
one or two thousand copies niore than its present capacity 
or your type-setting machine produce one or two thou- 
sand ems more than its present capacity your succesi- 
is assured. One who takes up this kind of inventing 
seriously may procure copies of the entire class of patents 
at a cost of a few dollars and thus keep posted on what 
has already been accomplished in that art and the trend 
of the inventors working that class." 



"Tender handed grasp a nettle, 

And it stings you for your pains ; 
Grasp it like a man of mettle. 
And it soft as silk remains." 



-Aaron Hill. 



LESSON VII. 
Comment on the Crude Model. 



"How did you apply the principle of the crossed levers 
to the nippers, William?" 

My nephew knew he had surpassed Miss Sharp, but 
feared Joseph's supremacy. He, being a machinist, must 
have achieved greater success in applying the principle 
of the crossed levers to the cutting nippers, William pre- 
supposed. Looking at Joseph suspiciously he answered 
protractedly in a faltering cadence : ''I have studied last 
night's lesson thoughtfully, and during the past twenty- 
four hours I have traced the leverage of a large number 
of mechanisms and things I came across. I am really 
astonished at the knowledge of mechanics I have already 
acquired, yet I am not a trained machinist as my friend 
Joseph is. I fear that my makeshift is not much better 
than Miss Sharp's — and perhaps not as good," he added, 
fearing the young lady may take umbrage at the in- 
sinuation. 

"It occurred to me that since there are two levers to 
the nippers it might be better to have them both of the 



64 PLAN WORTHY OF EMULATION. 

same capacity, so I hinged all of the four levers on one 
fulcrum as shown in this sketch. 




"As I am not a mechanic I was not sure this scheme 
would work right, so I made a pair of nippers out of a 
shingle to ascertain the operativeness and the feasibility 
of my scheme. This is my model. It is very frail but it 
works all right." 

"Well done, WilHam." I tapped him on the shoulder 
approvingly. "The inventive faculty, you see, is held in 
us under tension. It needs but a slight jolt to make it 
leap up. You are more of an inventor than you were 
willing to believe you were." 

Presupposing Joseph had something still more wonder- 
ful I did not wait to inspect his scheme, which I thought 
would surely eclipse all others, but first complimented my 
two humble pupils on their inventive achievements, 
which though crude and impractical were certainly com- 
mendable, considering the briefness and the incomplete- 
ness of the previous lessons. 

I especially praised and commended my nephew for his 
wisdom in making a wooden model to demonstrate the 
operativeness of his invention. For the nev/ beginner, 
or until one has had a few months practice in tracing 
leverage, this is certainly an excellent plan and worthy 
of emulation. It inspires the aspirant practical inventor 
with confidence in his creation. The model made out 
of a shingle, frail as it was, showed up the operativeness 



REDUCTION* TO PRACTICE NOT INVENTING. 65 

and the practicability of his invention nicely, and imbued 
the aspirant practical inventor with faith in his ability to 
create something new, operative, practical and desirable. 

"Joseph, you have some advantage over your co- 
learners. You are a mechanic. You must have something 
real pretty," I remarked as I turned my attention to him. 

^'That's right. I'm a mechanic. I don't have to learn 
how to invent. I simply like to listen. I did not want to 
fool with these old nippers. I have invented a flying 
machine that beats the Wright Brothers' biplane all hol- 
low." He pouted excitedly as he jumped to his feet 
and poked the sketch of the flying machine he held in his 
trembling hands. 

I chuckled down my disappointment. I took the sketch 
from his hand and put it under a paperweight without 
looking at it or commenting on it. His sister, noticing 
my disappointment and displeasure, blushed and looked 
at the precocious inventor incensed. To relieve both 
of their embarrassment, I said : "I will look at the sketch 
later when we come to the subject of flying machines." 

Turning to the other two tyros I remarked : ''You 
have certainly done well, considering the limited knowl- 
edge of inventing you have. This, however, is not due 
to your innate ingenuity, but to your eagerness to learn 
the art of inventing and your exercise of moral courage. 
Inventing is one thing and reducing conceptions to prac- 
tice is quite another. The former cannot be taught, the 
latter can. Devising the shapes of the elements after the 
function and the general principles of the means for 
accomplishing the same have been conceived is like solv- 
ing a mathematical problem. Any fairly intelligent boy 
or girl can solve an intricate mathematical problem which 
at first appears impossible. But some boys and girls 
have grit enough to try and work at it and finally solve 
it, while others have no patience to try or simply don't 



66 CONFUSED DISTRIBUTION OF ELEMENTS. 

want to exert themselves and, of course, they never at- 
tain proficiency in mathematics. 

"But while, as a matter of fact, you have solved the 
problem and applied the principle of the crossed levers 
to the nippers, the inventor who had given his concep- 
tion of improving the cutting nippers by means of com- 
pounded leverage more thought and study applied the 
principle of the compound lever in a more practical man- 
ner. In either of your devices the long lever is of the 
second order, while in the compound cutting nippers now 
on the market both the long and the short lever are of 
the first order. 

"I have illustrated my first exposition on the art of 
improving on the cutting nippers because your mistakes 
in lineal levers, when pointed out to you, would be easily 
seen by you. In rotary levers, particularly in compound 
rotary levers, mistakes in their arrangement would not 
be so obvious to you. — " 

''I never heard of compound rotary levers," interrupted 
Joseph. 

"Why, the back gearing in the very screw cutting 
lathe you are using every day is in effect a rotary com- 
pound lever, and so is every speed-reducing gearing. 

"There are thousands of patents in which the ma- 
chines they show and describe seem practically inopera- 
tive and, of course, commercially valueless. A careful 
study of these machines discloses the fact that the new 
mechanical principles they enunciate are not only opera- 
tive, but eminently practicable and of intrinsic commer- 
cial value. It is the confused distribution and promiscuous 
arrangement of the lineal and rotary levers in the ma- 
chines that m.ake them appear ineffective. To avoid 
such ruinous errors, drill yourselves very thoroughly in 
observing the proper distribution and arrangement of 
lineal and rotary levers in successful machines in opera- 
tion. 



MUST MASTER THE ART. 67 

"Practical inventing is a knack, practical patent making 
is a knack, practical mechanical skill is a knack, skill and 
proficiency in any art or profession is nothing but a 
knack — a thorough mastery of the art or profession. A 
knack in any art or profession can only be acquired by 
persistent, well-directed, determined efforts during the 
process of training. In every art and profession masters 
are very scarce, because so few are willing to make the 
determined effort necessary to the attainment of pro- 
ficiency. 

"He who aspires to win fortune by inventing must 
master the arts of observation, introspection and analysis. 
These arts can be best acquired through the constant prac- 
tice of tracing the leverage of co-acting parts in machin- 
ery, and causes to effects in everything. With a thorough 
mastery of the arts of studious observation, introspection 
and analysis, conceptions of masterful reorganizations of 
machinery or combinations of effects in almost every- 
thing are bound to follow every ardent attempt. 



"No man possesses a genius so commanding 
that he can attain eminence, unless a subject 
suited to his talents should present itself and 
opportunity occur for their developments." 

— Pliny. 



LESSON VIII. 
Labor Saving Machinery. 

"Another phase of practical and profitable inventing is 
the act of contriving mechanical means conducive to sup- 
plant manual labor either in part or in whole. 

"The following example will demonstrate the condi- 
tions most propitious to such inventing and the important 
points that claim the inventor's thoughtful deliberation. 
The earnest inventor must always be on the alert and 
ever ready and eager to avail himself of every promising 
opportunity for profitable inventing. 

"Strolling through the woods in a lumber region I was 
attracted by the sight of two men buckling over a thirty- 
inch-in-diameter . knotty oak log, diligently fiddling a 
cross-cut saw from sunrise to sundown, and all they 
had accomplished that day was to cut five or six of these 
logs in two. The work of sawing such logs is very 
fatiguing and the pay is only one dollar a day per man. 
I addressed the men : 'Good people, why don't you buy a 
machine with a rotary saw which would cut that log 
through in less than an hour instead of wearing yourselves 
out and losing so much time?' 

" 'We should certainly like to have a machine that 
would do this kind of work for us,' one of the men 
answered. 'The work is very hard on us; it is certainly 



SIZING UP THE COMPETITOR. 69 

wearing us out. But a machine to cut such logs must 
carry a six-foot-in-diameter circular saw.' 

'''Well, what of that?' 

" 'Oh, what of that ! A machine that carries a six-foot- 
in-diameter saw requires a twenty-five or thirty horse 
power engine to drive it." 

" 'Suppose it does !' 

" 'Suppose it does !' reverberated one of the men. 
'Why a thirty horse-power engine requires an engineer to 
tend it and a large building wherein to keep the engine 
and the machine. All the logs would then have to be 
brought to the machine. That would require the main- 
tenance of a number of teams and teamsters for that 
purpose. Such an outfit would cost several thousands of 
dollars and we are poor men, working for a dollar a day. 
How dare we think of such a thing? Moreover, circular 
saws are very expensive and subject to break with the 
best of care. A six-foot-in-diameter circular saw costs 
about one hundred dollars, while the best cross-cut saw 
costs only two dollars ; it never breaks and is portable.' 

"Deliberating on the subject and conceiving the idea, I 
asked the men : 'How much would you be willing to pay 
for a machine that one of you could conveniently handle 
and accomplish in a day as much as you two do ?' 

"The men conferred in a whisper and figured out that 
such a machine would certainly be of excellent assistance 
to them. It would save them a dollar a day, and that 
means about three hundred dollars a year. Such a 
machine would be worth a great deal to them, but as 
they are poor men they could not invest much money 
no matter how great a saving the machine may effect 
and therefore refused to answer me. Finally, as I pressed 
them for an answer one of the men responded: 'I'll tell 
you, mister, such a machine would be worth a great 
deal to us, but as we are poor men we could not, to save 



70 LIMITED SALE PRICE. 

our souls, scrape together more than fifty dollars. This 
sum is all such poor men as we are could invest in such 
a machine even though its service, to tell the truth, would 
be worth to us about three hundred dollars a year.' 

"Here is a problem for us to solve. We must invent a 
machine that, although it would save the purchaser about 
three hundred dollars a year and last a life time must be 
made to sell for fifty dollars. 

'In a machine of this kind the inventor should have a 
royalty of at least 10 per cent, or five dollars, on every 
machine made. The manufacturer, for his cash invest- 
ment, his time, and the depreciation of his machinery, de- 
terioration of his buildings, etc., must make a profit of at 
least 30 per cent, or fifteen dollars, in a machine. To 
let the woodsmen of the country know that the manu- 
facturer has such a machine for them, competent agents 
must travel through the woods on teams to interview 
the woodsmen in all parts of the country and secure 
from them orders for the machine. The expense of 
maintaining such agents, the advertising matter, the cost 
of boxing and delivering the machine to the freight sta- 
tion and other incidental expenses connected with such 
an enterprise would amount to about 50 per cent, or 
twenty-five dollars, on each machine sold. So, our in- 
vention, to be a commercial success, the machine must 
not cost over five dollars to manufacture. Yet the ma- 
chine must be conveniently operated by only one man 
and do the work of two men. 

"Would it pay to invent such a machine? 

"Well, yes. There are about one hundred thousand 
woodsmen in this country. If we are fortunate enough 
to place our invention in the hands of a wide-awake, 
progressive manufacturer, he should, during the life of 
our patent [seventeen years] sell machines to at least 
one-half of the number of woodsmen in this country. 



ANALYSIS OF THE PROJECT. 71 

We would then net a royalty of about a quarter of a 
million dollars during the life of the patent. 

"What competition is there in the field? 

"The costly rotary steam-driven sawing machines. As 
they stand in relation to the machine we have in mind as 
the automobile does to the push cart, they need not be 
taken into consideration. There is no one-man-operated 
log sawing machine on the market that sells at fifty dol- 
lars. The field is therefore clear. 

''Having decided that the invention, if successfully car- 
ried out to fill all conditions, would be a commercial suc- 
cess, let us proceed to invent the machine. Jot down 
the problem. Miss Sharp : 

1. "Our machine must perform two functions. It 
must move the cross-cut saw rectilinearly reciprocal [to 
and fro in a straight horizontal line] and must feed 
the saw into the cut at every backward movement the 
depth of about two-thirds of the height of a saw tooth; 

2. "Our machine must supply one man-power and 
the operator must manipulate it with perfect freedom 
of movement, not buckle over the log as before ; 

3. "Our machine must be rigid and stationary, yet 
be light and portable enough to enable the operators to 
cart it through the woods; 

4. "Our machine must net cost over five dollars to 
manufacture, unless we are in a position to do our own 
manufacturing and marketing. 

"The first move toward solving our problem is to 
select, from the store in our mind, some mechanical 
movement which we have seen in operation, and deem it 
practical for the purpose, that will give us a to-and-fro 
horizontal movement of the cross-cut saw. What do 
you suggest, Joseph?'^ 



72 CRITICISING THE ELEMENTS. 

"Why, an eccentric would do that ! An eccentric moves 
the piston of an engine to and fro." 

"Yes, an eccentric in a yoke, or crank in a shaft, which 
is the same in principle, generates a reciprocally recti- 
linear movement of the piston or implement moved there- 
by. But our saw must move at least thirty-six inches 
forward and thirty-six inches backward in a straight 
line. Thus, an eccentric or a cranked shaft would re- 
quire a lateral space of six feet to accommodate its 
throw in all directions. It would also require means for 
preventing the saw from following the circular move- 
ment of the eccentric, which we must avoid on account of 
the cost. The eccentric or the cranked shaft are there- 
fore impracticable for the present purpose. Let us think 
of something cheaper and more compact. What do you 
say, William?" 

"Why, as I walked through the street this morning I 
stopped to examine the mechanism under the body of a 
coal wagon which was raised and lowered a distance of 
about thirty-six inches by means of a rack and pinion. The 
shaft carrying the pinion was turned by a crank. The 
movement I figured out was a lever of the first order. 
Why would not such an arrangement do for moving the 
cross-cut saw horizontally?" 

"Yes, a rack and a pinion on a driven shaft would move 
the saw the required distance in one direction. What 
about moving it in the opposite direction ? Reversing the 
movement of the crank won't do. What do you sug- 
gest, Miss Sharp?" 

Smiling, blushing, and blinking with a tinge of exhilara- 
tion in her mien, she began gingerly: "Last night as I 
studied my lesson I examined among other things my 
New Home sewing machine. The movement of the bob- 
bin winder somehow held my attention longer than any 
other part of the machine. I used that bobbin winder 



APPLICATION OF KNOWN PRINCIPLES. 



73 



for nearly three years, yet if you had asked me yester- 
day what the thing looked like I would have been una- 
ble to give an intelligent description even of its external 
appearance, for I never looked at it before. Last night 
as I examined it and wound a bobbin with it for the pur- 
pose of observing its action, the graceful reciprocal 
movements of the thread guide and its evenly depositing 
the thread on the bobbin amused me greatly. The re- 
condite mechanism of the horizontally movable arm ex- 
cited my curiosity to the point of tempting me to un- 
screw it and find out what makes the thing move so 
silently and gracefully to and fro with such remarkable 
regularity, and I unscrewed it. When I took down the 
analysis of the problem of the cross-cut log-sawing ma- 
chine it flashed across my mind that the horizontal move- 
ment of the bobbin winder arm would be just the thing 
for moving the cross-cut saw reciprocally in a horizontal 
line." 

"Sketch out the bobbin winder, Miss Sharp, please, to 
let the young men see what the thing looks like and tell 
us, if you can, how you would apply the principle of the 
bobbin winder to the log-sawing machine." 




Miss Sharp sketched this view, studied it a few min- 
utes and emitted a self-pleased "hm." She referred to the 



74 FUNCTION OF FLY WHEELS. 

note book and said: **Our problem calls for one man- 
power. We have an old straw cutting machine in the 
cellar with which we used to cut hay for the cow. I 
examined it this morning. As the machine is not in 
use, the fly wheel is now off. When, this morning, I 
tried to turn the crank I could not budge it, whereas 
when the fly wheel was on I could turn the knives and 
feed the rollers and cut the hay as easily as Joseph did. 
It just occurred to me that the fly wheel supplied the 
power to operate this machine. As our problem calls 
for one-man power I think a fly wheel would supply 
that. I should convert this worm wheel of the bobbin 
winder into a fly wheel of suitable weight and diameter, 
and turn the wheel with a crank. Just how to arrange 
this mechanism I cannot tell at the present, but it is plain 
that the reciprocally-movable, oppositely-disposed rack 
bars of the bobbin winder, made of suitable material and 
proper dimensions, would move the cross-cut saw to and 
fro in a horizontal line." 

"Excellent ! Your mechanical movement is well chosen 
for the purpose, Miss Sharp. I did not expect you to 
apply the principle of the bobbin winder to the log-sawing 
machine without considerable study and speculation, but 
wished to know what disposition you would make of the 
slow-driving endless screw and wheel. 

"A fly wheel does not generate power, it merely, stores 
up the power imparted thereto and pays it out gradually. 
The first few turns of the crank imparts momentum to 
the wheel ; it then requires considerably less effort to keep 
up the turning of the crank. Yes, a fly wheel of suitable 
diameter and weight will supply the one-man power. 

"Now we have a good driving mechanism, what 
about feeding the saw into the cut?" 

"Oh, that's nothing," answered Joseph quickly. ''Drill 
presses, planers, etc., feed the tool into the cut by a 
ratchet and pawl upon a screw." 



REDUCING INVENTION TO PRACTICE. 75 

"Well, then, we have the operative principle of the 
machine. Next we must reduce our invention to prac- 
tice. 

"I wish to remark right here that the conceiving of 
the function and contriving the operative principles of 
the machine to perform that function, is the invention 
proper. The rest of the work, that is, the mechanical 
work of embodying the principles of the mechanism in a 
workable machine ; or, what is popularly called to design 
the machine and embody the principle of the invention, 
though it is important to the completion of the inven- 
tion, is not an essential part thereof. 

"Suppose, for example, that owing to lack of knowl- 
edge of machine construction, or machine design, we were 
unable to complete our log-sawing machine ourselves. 
We may employ a machine designer, a draftsman, a 
mechanic, or an inventor to do that for us without losing 
the inventorship of the invention. We ma^ even with 
propriety avail ourselves of important suggestions or 
improvements in the principles proper, so long as they 
constitute no deviations from the scope and spirit of the 
new function ; or, if the invention is a mere improvement 
on a machine already in existence, from our new modus 
operandi. The rule of law is that the first inventor is 
entitled to a patent for the conception of the new princi- 
ple and therefore to all improvements thereon made by 
others at his request. If, however, an inventor con- 
ceives a new function and the operative principles of the 
machine to perform that function, and does not have the 
invention reduced to practice, but carries the idea in his 
mind, and if a few weeks or even a few days later an- 
other inventor conceives the same idea, has the new 
principle properly clothed with a material body, and 
applies for a patent therefor, the latter inventor will be 
adjudged to be the first, sole and original inventor of the 



76 DILIGENCE OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE. 

machine, notwithstanding the fact that another inventor 
invented it first, as the first inventor would have no means 
of proving priority. 

"Due dihgence is therefore of the utmost importance. 
The new principle should be at once embodied in the 
machine [on paper], with or without the assistance of 
others, and the patent applied for so soon as practicable. 
Models, except when a mechanism is so poorly illustrated 
and so ambiguously described as to appear inoperative, 
or actually is inoperative, are not now required by the 
Patent Office, and no investment in a working model 
should be made until the patent is allowed." 

''Why not have a working model made before the 
patent is allowed?" 

"For this reason: A model of the simplest piece of 
mechanism often costs several hundred dollars to pro- 
duce, and if the patent is rejected the investment therein 
is sheer loss. With the exception of a cheap, crude, 
wooden, paper, or metal model — one that is just sufficient 
to demonstrate the principle of the invention, its opera- 
tiveness, or its feasibility, in cases where such demonstra- 
tion is deemed expedient — make no further investment in 
an invention beyond the cost of filing an application for a 
patent, and that only not until a thorough preliminary 
examination by a skillful patent attorney has been made 
of the patent records in the class to which your invention 
appertains, until the patent is officially allowed." 

''But some patent attorneys guarantee issue of the 
patent," protested Joseph Sharp. "What's the use of 
waiting several months for the allowance of the patent 
when you know that the patent will surely be issued? It 
would be a sheer loss of valuable time. I could have the 
model of my flying machine built and tested by the time 
my patent is allowed." Joseph later confessed that on the 
morning following the incident recorded in Part I, not 



ATTORNEYS CANNOT GUARANTEE. 77 

knowing that he would be invited to join my nephew in 
the lessons, he had made the rounds of several of the 
large patent-shoving companies and collected a lot of 
client-hatching literature from which he inferred that 
the disseminators guarantee issue of the patent. 

Most of the books and booklets distributed gratis 
among inventors seem to impress the readers with the 
idea that all one needs is a patent and fortune is his. 
As a matter of fact, a patent possesses no more control- 
ling virtue than the block of wood or ^tone of which 
the Chinese Joss is hewn does divine virtue. It is the 
skillful preparation of the specification and claims in the 
patent that imparts the monopolistic virility that is of 
intrinsic commercial value in the patent. 

No power on earth can guarantee issue or allowance 
of the patent; but the worse kind of a botch of a patent 
attorney can guarantee allowance of a patent. As the 
tyros had not yet learned to distinguish the difference 
between one patent and another, I ignored Joseph's re- 
mark and repeated : "Beyond the cost of filing the applica- 
tion for the patent, make no further investment in your 
invention until the patent is officially allowed, and then 
only provided the allowed patent covers enough of the 
invention to justify the investment in the cost of a work- 
ing model. 

''Crudities may be eliminated after the patent is issued, 
and advanced ideas, if they enunciate new principles, are 
always better protected by an additional patent. Shapes, 
forms, proportions, or dimensions do not figure in patent 
causes unless the invention is directly dependent on such. 
After the patent is issued the inventor may make his 
machine or device of any size, shape, or form he chooses 
different 'from what is shown in the drawings of the 
patent without in the least prejudicing his rights. There 
is therefore no reason why a model should be made be- 
fore. 



78 LAW ALLOWS TIME TO PERFECT INVENTION. 

"Furthermore, the fiHng of an appHcation for a patent 
is legally equivalent to reduction to practice in all con- 
tests for priority, and in many instances it carries more 
weight than a working model of even date. 

"The law allows the inventor two years time in which 
to test the merits of his invention. Some inventors, par- 
ticularly manufacturers, often even market their im- 
provement before they apply for a patent. And some in- 
ventors, especially those who have patents of a nature 
that they contemplate procuring foreign patents, build 
models of their inventions and test their merits thorough- 
ly before they apply for the domestic patent. But all 
those who do so must be prepared to fight costly inter- 
ference cases. Those who are not wealthy enough to 
fight interferences should file their applications for pat- 
ents before they invest in a model. 

"Enormous sums of money are annually wasted by 
inventors against which I am solicitous to guard you. The 
average inventor seems to have no adequate idea o"f 
the chances he takes in making any considerable invest- 
ment before the final allowance of the patent. The 
allowance of a patent is practically always certain, the 
allowance of The patent is positively never certain. Be- 
sides prior patents, there are publications in the Scien- 
tific Library of the Patent Office, caveats kept in the 
secret archives of the Patent Office, foreign patents, 
abandoned, forfeited and pending applications, "facts 
within the personal knowledge of an employee of the 
office" — causes for rejection which though not prob- 
able are always possible of being confronted with when 
a set of comprehensive, generic claims is presented 
and allowance vigorously urged. 

"It is ordinarily safe to proceed with the building of 
the working model immediately after the second or 
third action on the merits of the invention under ex- 



APPLICATION MAY BE RENEWED. 79 

amination; that is to say, after the principal claims have 
been allowed in view of the citations on file. But the 
existence of a pending application for a similar inven- 
tion cannot be discovered until one of the two co-pending 
applications is ready for final allowance. The proper 
course to pursue is obviously to wait with the building 
of the model until the application is finally allowed. 

"To afford the inventor sufficient time to have appli- 
cations for foreign patents prepared and filed before the 
publication of the American patent, he is allowed about 
twenty-one weeks' time from the date of the official al- 
lowance of the application in which to order the issue of 
the patent. The proper time to build the model is dur- 
ing these twenty-one weeks. If during the building of 
the model some serious difficulties are encountered 
and more than twenty-one weeks' time is required to 
eradicate some vital weaknesses or to correct the in- 
operativeness of certain features or functions of the 
new machine, the allowed application may be for- 
feited by simply not paying the final Government 
fee of $20.00 at the expiration of the twenty-one 
weeks and renewed at a cost of a new first Gov- 
ernment fee of $15.00 so soon as the model is com- 
pleted and tested or at any time within two years 
from the date of official allowance. 

"Never order the issue of the patent if there is the 
slightest doubt as to the operativeness of a single fea- 
ture or function, element or combination of elements 
in the machine as shown in the drawings and described 
in the specification of the allowed application ; as the 
patent will be null and void. 

"Now show your tastes and aptitudes in the designing 
of the frame work of the log-sawing machine and elabo- 
rate its mechanical movements in the most practical man- 
ner possible for you, and assemble here tomorrow at 
5.30 p. m." 



"A woman is like to — but stay, 
What a woman is like to, who can say?" 



LESSON IX. 
Fortuitous Conceptions. 

"Well, what have you accomplished?" I asked my 
nephew when my pupils took their seats for the third 
session. I noticed the young lady's eyes beaming with 
triumph and her brother's as jubilant and anxious as the 
previous evening, while my nephew's face bore a very 
serious look, so I took him up first. 

"I have devised the famework for the cross-cut log- 
sawing machine. Here is a sketch showing a side eleva- 
tion and a top view. 

"The machine [see opposite] is composed of three 
rectangular frames. The two wider frames are coupled 
and held rigidly the proper distance apart by means of six 
double ended bolts, each having an enlargement between 
its threaded ends, carrying a cast iron roller. The nar- 
rower frame has, internally secured thereto, the oppo- 
sitely disposed toothed racks, and slides telescopically 
between said two wider frames, riding upon said rollers 
and thus sliding reciprocally with the least amount of 
friction. The toothed cam and the fly wheels are secured 
upon a shaft suitably journaled in the middle uprights 
of the outer frames, as shown. 

"To make sure that the cost of the machine will not 
exceed five dollars, I called upon a lumber man and asked 
him to furnish me an estimate on the cost of the lumber 
it would take to make the three frames, and on a foundry 



THE LOG-SAWING MACHINE. 



81 





1 



fc:^ 



F. 



.'] 



82 A PROMISING INVENTOR. 

man who furnished me the probable cost of the castings 
in quantities of one thousand sets. The total cost of 
the lumber and castings in quantities is estimated about 
$2.50, and the cross cut saws in quantities will cost about 
$1.50 each. There remains $1 to pay for the time of 
machining the castings and assembling the machine, 
which, I was told by a machinist, is somewhat more than 
enough. 

"On my way home yesterday I stopped to examine a 
wagon jack as a blacksmith raised a heavy truck with it. 
The ratchet-toothed rack bar and pawl action gave me an 
idea of a new feeding mechanism for our log-sawing 
machine which I think is better and cheaper than the 
screw. So, to reduce, in fact eliminate entirely, the cost 
of machining, I have substituted a cast iron rack for 
the wrought iron feed screw and ratchet. In fact, as I 
criticised the function of the screw saw-feed mechanism, 
we selected yesterday, and examined its action in drill 
presses I became convinced that as the screw must move 
the saw vertically a distance of thirty-six inches and bear 
the entire strain of the cutting, a screw is wholly inade- 
quate for the purpose. Furthermore, one would have 
some turning to do to raise the saw by turning the screw 
unless the nut is made split, which in the present instance 
will hardly do. With the rack-bar-and-pawl arrangement 
the saw can be raised and adjusted to the log in an in- 
stant. The rack bar being a stout casting and laying flat 
against the wooden frame cannot deflect, or yield, under 
the stress of the cutting, as the screw might, and would 
cost about one-fourth of what the screw and ratchet 
would." 

"Well done, William," I commented, patting him on 
the back. "Always criticise every element of the 
mechanism of your invention and weigh every phase of 
its adequacy in point of strength, speed, convenience of 



JUDICIOUS MANAGEMENT OF INVENTING. 83 

manipulation, and cost of manufacture. When cost of 
manufacture is an item of some importance, don't neglect 
to call upon dealers or manufacturers for estimates and 
ascertain the probable cost as nearly as possible. Success- 
ful inventing is as much a matter of judicious manage- 
ment as successful engineering or architecture. 

"What is your scheme. Miss Sharp?" 

Laughing embarrassed and blushing and squinting ap- 
prehensively, she said diffidently: "I am Joseph's sister. 
I was working on an invention of my own instead of on 
the problem." The young men pricked up their ears. 

Joseph became impatient, jumped to his feet and jab- 
bered excitedly: "What's your invention, sis? Let's see 
it." 

"Not a flying machine, Joseph. I won't interfere with 
your invention." 

"I guess you won't, sis. It takes a mechanic to invent 
a flying machine. I am proud of my invention. It is a 
perfect flying machine. An aeromobile. That's what I 
call it. It beats everything on the market all hollow. I 
have been working on the drawings last night until 2 
o'clock this morning and — " 

"Please explain in detail how you came about to make 
your invention and what it is," I asked her encouragingly, 
shutting off Joseph's rambling expatiation on his flying 
machine with a gesture. 

The young lady's bosom heaved with pride and joy at 
my nephew's admiration of her inventive precocity as 
she began to relate her own story in a slow and deliberate 
cadence. ^ "Last night, after recapitulating the lesson of 
the evening, I felt indisposed to take up the solution of 
the log-sawing machine problem. Deferring the problem 
until morning, I lit my gasolene stove to warm water 
to wash the dishes and took up the book I am reading. 
The water began to boil and I turned down the gasolene 



84 NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 

flow, continuing to read the book to finish the interesting 
episode. The hissing sound of the boiling water annoyed 
me greatly and I resorted to my customary methods of 
keeping the water hot without hissing in such exigencies. 
This I accomplished by setting the kettle on two flat irons 
in order to raise its bottom above the flame. I have to 
do this every morning to keep the oatmeal hot without 
burning while I am washing and dressing — " 

"Pardon me for interrupting you. Why don't you 
turn down the gasolene flow still lower instead of raising 
the kettle or the oatmeal pan on two flat irons ?" 

"The gasolene flow, unlike the gas jet or lamp burner, 
does not stand turning down below a certain height. 
When turned down too low, a slight puff of air in the 
room puts it out, and so soon as the burner cools off it 
goes out without fanning and fills the room with the 
noxious, dangerous fumes. When neglected to turn off 
at once a dangerous stream of combustible fluid runs on 
the floor. This is perhaps responsible for most of the 
gasolene conflagrations so often reported in the news- 
papers. 

"A few minutes later the kettle I had set on the sad 
irons slipped and the contents diffused itself over a large 
area of the floor. I was about to swear off using a gaso- 
lene stove in the future, as this is not the first time m)? 
scheme played me such a trick, when I remembered that I 
was learning the art of inventing, the aim and object 
of which is to banish such nuisances by contriving better 
means. After I mopped up the floor and straightened 
things out I set to work to devise means for raising and 
lowering the cooking utensils. And this is my scheme." 

"One moment, please. I wish to ask you a few ques- 
tions before I look at your sketch. Do all the gas and 
gasolene stove users have to resort to some such means 
to keep the oatmeal from burning to the bottom, or is it 



BANISHMENT OF ANNOYANCES. 



85 




because yours is an old style stove ? To what other means 
do users resort? If this is a nuisance common to all 
vapor stoves its banishment is an important invention. 
How do you know that there is not something of the 
kind on the market?" 

"My gasolene stove is comparatively new. Mother 
bought it only two months ago. It represents the latest 
model in gasolene stoves. My mother puts the oatmeal 
pan in boiling water to keep it hot without burning to 
the bottom, but this method is objectionable for two 
reasons : First, because the stove must then burn full 
blaze to keep the water constantly boiling, which is a 
considerable waste of the precious fluid; and second, the 
water keeps on emitting a musical sound I greatly dislike. 

"I visited this noon, on my way to lunch, two of the 
largest gas and gasolene stove dealers in this city and 
asked them to consult the catalogues and descriptive cir- 
culars of gas and gasolene stoves and ascertain whether 



86 DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR CONCEPTION. 

means to keep the bottom of the utensil adjustably above 
the blaze has already been adopted by vapor stove makers. 
They searched their literature and assured me that noth- 
ing of the kind is shown or described in any of the cata- 
logues or circulars." 

"It is inadvisable to disclose your conception to an 
interested party until the application for the patent has 
breen filed in the Patent Ofifice. Even then one should 
deliberate upon the advisability of the course before ex- 
posing the conception. You should have asked the deal- 
ers to permit you to inspect their catalogues and circulars 
without telling them for what purpose." 

"If so, how does an inventor disclose his invention to 
his patent attorney — particularly to those patent attorney 
companies that employ scores of men, women, boys, and 
girls — and to the Patent Office employees?" 

'*A registered patent attorney is a duly recognized 
practitioner before the United State Patent Office. A 
breach of trust on his part is a criminal offence and would 
quickly end his career as a patent attorney. No patent 
attorney or Patent Office employee can avail himself of 
the inventor's disclosure with impunity. Any other per- 
son to whom an invention is disclosed may file an applica- 
tion for a patent on the same invention with perfect im- 
punity." 

"I did not tell them my scheme, though. I only told 
them that I had invented means for raising and lowering 
the utensil in relation to the flame." 

"You have certainly told them enough. Miss Sharp. In 
fact you have told them all that some smart clerk or by- 
stander would want to know in order to invent something 
like it. This is another trait that distinguishes the prac- 
tical from the improvident inventor. The former learned 
to keep his ideas to himself, and the latter talks freely 
about his achievements, and before his case passes the 



IMPROVEMENT DAWNED AT SIGHT. 87 

Patent Office he bumps up against an interfering appli- 
cation and pays dearly for his thoughtlessness or, the 
loquacious one, for the little pleasure of vainglorious 
boasting. Inventions of nominal value do not, of course, 
require such caution. But valuable improvements should 
not be disclosed. Many interference cases might have 
been avoided if the inventors had kept their own counsel. 
This is a hint worth remembering. Now please explain 
your invention. Miss Sharp." 

"My invention is simply a tripod, one leg of which is 
movable and all the three legs have exteriorly a series 
of corresponding notches. A turn of the movable leg 
admits the three legs into the opening in the top plate 
of the stove. When the movable leg is returned to its 
normal position the notches in the three legs engage 
the top plate and thus support the culinary utensil the 
desired height from the flame." 

Both young men glanced at the sketch over Miss 
Sharp's shoulder, and William, in a burst of boyish glee, 
thoughtlessly rattled off ecstatically : "Oh, I can improve 
upon this invention, all right." The young lady leered 
at him supercilliously, as if such a thing were entirely out 
of the question. A moment later, however, she became 
apprehensive, and reflecting upon the awful humilia- 
tion ( ?) she blushed and flushed and frowned and fretted 
from resentment. Finally she muttered indignantly : 

"I haven't asked you to improve on my invention, 
Mr. Swift, have I?" Swift, perceiving the young lady 
had taken umbrage at his remark, humbly apologized for 
his impudence. 

Very much surprised that she had so soon forgotten 
my inculcations, I remarked : "This is another feature 
which distinguishes the practical from the improvident 
inventor. The former seeks to have his inventions criti- 
cised as much as possible and gratefully avails himself 



88 DO NOT SPURN CRITICISM. 

of every feasible suggestion, while the latter resents 
criticism. In consequence whereof the practical inventor's 
inventions are always elaborated and practical, while 
the other's are often crude and impracticable to the point 
of uselessness. 

"I have already remarked that when you have con- 
ceived the novel function, principle, or result, and de- 
vised means for performing the same, however crude 
and impracticable the means may be, you own the in- 
vention and are legally and morally entitled to any as- 
sistance you may require to elaborate your ideas. 

The fact that another person found some flaws in your 
invention does not prove that he is the smarter nor does 
it legally or morally detract from your credit as the first, 
sole, and original inventor of the invention in question. 
I would suggest, Miss Sharp, that you ask Mr. Swift to 
point out the improvement he could make." 

The girl hesitated. ''Oh, he is only vaunting," she 
said looking at him obliquely and smiling acridly. '*I 
tried enough to simplify or improve it. It is as simple and 
practical as it can be made." 

I laughed at her conceitedness and vanity. "I am 
aware that nothing offends the young inventor more keen- 
ly than the pointing out of a flaw in his or her invention. 
Miss Sharp,'' I said. "But you are learning to become 
a practical inventor, and a practical inventor, as I said 
before, unlike the improvident inventor, makes use of 
every practical hint and endeavors to make his or her 
invention as elaborate as it can be made." 
, **But my invention is as good as it can be made and 
certainly simple enough," protested the young lady. 
"There are only three legs, one of which is rotatable. Two 
legs will not work, and more than one rotatable leg is not 
desirable. What improvement could be made on such a 
simple thing? I am sorry I have shown you the sketch 



VOLUNTEERING SUGGESTIONS IMPROPER. 89 

in their presence," she concluded, smiHng gingerly; but 
she really meant what she said. 

"Do you suspect the young men of intending to claim 
priority to your invention, Miss Sharp?" 

**No, I don't. But I wish they had not seen it," she 
blurted out. 

• "I know how you feel about Swift's remark, Miss 
Sharp. Nevertheless, I want you for your own good to 
ask him to explain the improvement he has conceived, 
if only to show that it is possible to improve even on 
such a simple thing. As he is too anxious to volunteer 
assistance, I will ask him to explain the improvement, if 
you don't feel inclined to impose upon his good nature. 
William, please explain the improvement 3^ou perceived 
it is possible to make on this invention." 

William understood that volunteering suggestions was 
not the proper thing to do for a practical inventor, par- 
ticularly when such valuable services are not only not 
appreciated by the inventors, but often bitterly resented. 
He therefore repented himself of what he had said and 
flatly refused to disclose his conception. As I pressed him 
hard to give it out, he declared that it was only an idea 
of an insignificant change that had flashed across his 
mind as he glanced at the sketch. This pleased the young 
lady immensely. ''I told you that my invention is so 
simple that it cannot be improved upon," she burst out 
jubilantly. "What is the little change you said you could 
make on my invention, Mr. Swift?" she now asked out of 
aroused womanly curiosity, smiling at her admirer ex- 
ultantly. 

William declined to tell, again remarking that it is a 
mere change not worth mentioning that suggested itself 
to him at sight of the sketch. His remark, however, did 
not satisfy me, and I urged him to disclose his conception 



90 



THE SAME THING ONLY DIFFERENT. 



fully, freely, and truthfully. After some discussion and 
persuasion he sketched out his conception, and explained 
it: 




"Instead of a tripod I should use a piece of sheet iron 
stove pipe, a sheet iron thimble of a height corresponding 
to the distance between the top plate of the gasolene 
stove and the flowcock stem, and of a diameter slightly 
larger than the diameter of the orifice in the top plate of 
the stove. Upon the periphery of this cylinder I should 
have impressed screw threads, like those in a Mason 
fruit jar cap, and provide the cylinder with a small 
wooden knob as shown. In the orifice of the top plate 
of the stove — in stoves already in use — I should make a 
shear cut half an inch deep, and with a pair of pliers bend 
the internal periphery downward so as to form a spiral, 
or an internal screw thread of one evolution, into which 
the threaded stovepipe cylinder would screw. The orifice 
of the cylinder, being practically of the same diameter as 
the orifice in the top plate of the stove, would receive the 
old spider or utensil rest. The entire cost of the arrange- 
ment would thus be that of a piece of stove pipe, the 
formation of the screw threads thereon, and the little 



THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT. 91 

knob. The cylinder would never have to be removed, 
and the arrangement would be instantly and minutely 
adjustable to any desirable height by turning the cylinder 
in either direction without even interfering with the uten- 
sil thereon." 

The drop in the thermometer of the young lady's humor 
was flagrantly perceptible. She, like every young inven- 
tor, felt keenly humiliated by the striking improvement 
on her invention. After looking at William's sketch a 
few moments, she smirked saucily, and simpered blandly : 
**You may as well have it all, Mr. Swift," blushing to the 
very root of her golden tresses. ''I suppose the inven- 
tion belongs to him ?" she inquired hoarsely. 

"Not at all, madam," I assured her, laughing at her 
suppressed petulancy. "Viewed generically, there is sub- 
stantial identity in the construction of these two devices. 
If the idea of holding the utensil adjustably over the 
flame of a vapor burner is broadly new, you are legally 
entitled to the improvement made by him at your request 
and you would be the sole inventor thereof, even though 
the means employed to carry out the function is radically 
different in construction. But if the broad idea of means 
for adjusting the utensil in relation to the burner of a 
vapor stove is anticipated by a prior patent, and the 
present improvement in the means is made upon your re- 
quest, it being a broad departure from your scheme, in 
fact in part a new principle. Swift w^ould have to apply 
for the patent and assign his patent to you. But sup- 
posing you had not disclosed your scheme to Mr. Swift 
and had not asked him to criticise and improve it for you, 
but filed an application and secured a patent thereon. 
When your patent is published, Mr. Swift, perceiving the 
costliness of your support, would make the improvement, 
secure a patent thereon, and put the thing on the market. 



92 FLITTING CONCEPTIONS. 

His support being so much better and cheaper to manu- 
facture than yours would be a success and yours a flat 
failure."* 

The young lady, though now pacified, clandestinely be- 
moaned her fate that she must share her glory with her 
admirer. William noticed it and regretted his being the 
cause of her apparent distress. Presently a thrill of joy 
passed over his body. His face became luminous, his 
eyes sparkled, and his body charged with ecstasy. I 
knew he had something to say and turned my gaze on 
him, and so did Miss Sharp and her brother. William 
indulged in profound meditation for a few minutes and 
then very reluctantly and protractedly said : ''Miss Sharp, 
I helped you out on your invention, I wish you would 
assist me to work out mine." 

The girl became alert. "What is you invention, Mr. 
Swift?" but soon fell back into discomfiture for fear that 
his invention might be better than hers or that she 
might not be able to improve upon it as he did upon 
hers. Joseph was more persistent in his inquiries and 
eager to know William's invention. ''What is your in- 
vention. Will?" he asked repeatedly. 

"Oh, you see he is hesitating to show us his invention," 
remarked Miss Sharp. 



*In practice, Miss Sharp's tripod would, most likely, be more 
of a financial success than Swift's tubular support, even though 
the latter's support would be cheaper to manufacture. Cost 
of manufacturing the invention claims the inventor's most 
earnest attention. But the cost of marketing things is in 
almost every instance greater than the cost of manufacturing 
them. The tripot 'support could be sold through the regular 
channels of trade, while the tubular support would require 
house-to-house canvassers to sell it direct to householders (see 
page 176), and then some of the prospective purchasers might 
object to the shearcut and bending of the top plate of the stove. 



ELABORATION BEFORE DISCLOSURE. 93 

"Yes, I do hesitate," returned my nephew emphati- 
cally. **I hesitate to disclose my conception for two rea- 
sons: First, because I have just conceived it and have 
not given it sufficient thought; and, second, because I 
know Joseph's garrulous disposition. Tomorrow every 
man in the Navy Yard will know every detail of my in- 
vention." 

Joseph blushed. *'0h, you are scared somebody will 
steal your great invention, Will. I am not afraid of 
mine. I tell everybody and show my drawings." 

**You are right, William. Never disclose your concep- 
tion to a loquacious friend, nor to any person before you 
have given it sufficient thought and elaborated it your- 
self as much as possible. However, if Joseph will promise 
not to talk about it carelessly, I should ask you to explain 
your conception right now." 

Joseph promised and William began: 

"The door of my room is provided with a latch lock. 
When I leave the room I just slam the door. It quite 
frequently happens that when I return home late in the 
night I find the door unlocked. The cause of it soon 
became apparent to me. Either the slam was not forcible 
enough to drive the latch into the keeper or the door 
warped slightly; but more often a match stem lodged 
itself between the door and the door jam that prevented 
the latch from engaging the keeper. This evil doubt- 
less exists wherver latch locks are used. The annoyance 
is great, since the door remains unlocked during the 
absence of the occupant. Yet no one seemed to think it 
of sufficient importance to remedy it. Neither did I 
until a few moments ago, though the incident repeated 
itself last night. It occurred to me that the defect could 
easily be cured by a slight change in the construction of 
the keeper, by providing the latter with an extra step." 



94 



ELABORATION NOT INVENTION. 



William drew his idea of accomplishing his object. 
No sooner had he completed his sketch than Miss Sharp 
clapped her hands rapturously and exclaimed : "Oh, that's 
a cinch. I can improve on this idea alright/' and began 
to sketch out her improvement. 




"Explain the merits of your improvement over his, 
Miss Sharp, please," I asked her. 

"Why, v^ith only that much of the latch in engage- 
ment," pointing to Swift's sketch and clattering ludicrous- 
ly, "any person can enter a dull and greased knife edge 
and slide the yielding latch back and open the door. In 
my construction the surface of the latch toward the out- 
side is parallel with the door, and thus even if one step 
of the keeper is engaged the latch cannot be worked by a 
knife edge or other instrument, while when two steps are 
engaged a larger part of the latch in the keeper is the 
result." 

"This is a substantial structural improvement. Miss 
Sharp," I commented, "but it does not involve a deviation 
from William's principle. It merely elaborates his con- 
struction." 



'This self-conceit is a most dangerous shelf, 
Where many have made a shipwreck miawares; 

He who doth trust too much unto himself, 
Can never fail to fall in many snares." 

— Earl of Sterling. 



LESSON X. 
Court Criticism and Invite Suggestion. 

"I would be willing to bet most anything that nobody 
could improve on my inventions," exclaimed Joseph Sharp, 
challenging the other two tyros and myself. Inventors of 
Joseph's mental caliber are always sure of their ground. 
And many are the snares, traps and pitfalls into which 
such inventors, as the Earl said, ^never fail to fall.' 
There are free-search, contingency-fee, lists of inventions 
wanted, booklets suggesting what to invent, and certain 
other temptingly baited snares especially spread out for 
such self-conceited asses as Joseph Sharp was at that time. 
Joseph challenged my nephew to take up his bet or to 
enter with him into a controversy on the subject. But the 
latter paid no attention to him. William was deeply pre- 
occupied with the assimilation of the facts the incidents of 
the previous lesson presented to his mind, and after sev- 
eral moments of silent contemplation he observed : 

"There is now no doubt in my mind that there is more 
than one way of making almost every invention. It being 
so, I am at a loss to conceive how an inventor could make 
sure that after he had done the best he could in the way of 
elaborating his invention and gone to the expense of pro- 
curing a patent and building a working model he will not 



96 THOUSANDS OF SIMILAR PATENTS. 

be superseded by another inventor. Miss Sharp's adjust- 
able culinary utensil support offers a very cogent case 
in point." 

''Quite right, Mr. Swift," assented the young lady, sadly 
disappointed that her hope of winning fortune by invent- 
ing was suddenly melting into nothingness. The discov- 
ery that there is more than one way of embodying the 
principles of her invention seemed to unnerve her. "It 
just occurred to me," she whispered into her admirer's ear, 
"that the reason why so many thousands of inventors fail 
to realize on their inventing is simply because no sooner 
had one procured a patent on a certain invention than 
thousands of others get out patents on the same inven- 
tion—" 

''Not thousands of others. Miss Sharp," interrupted my 
nephew, smiling at her apparent gross exaggeration. 

"Yes, indeed; thousands of them, Mr. Swift," she 
returned seriously. "I have not been here long enough 
to know much about patents. But your uncle sent me 
up into the Attorneys' Room in the Patent Office the other 
day, and while I was making notes of the file of an appli- 
cation involved in an interference I overheard a man, evi- 
dently a disappointed inventor, talking to his attorney, 
who was examining the file of his pending application, 
something to this effect : 'I got my ideas of inventing my 
non-refillable bottle and my car coupler from a list of 
inventions wanted I had received from the prominent 
patent attorney firm, Messrs. D — & Co., together with a 
lot of client-soliciting literature, which seemed very logi- 
cal at the time, but looks devious to me now. I thought 
that if Messrs. D & Co. send out such a list of inven- 
tions wanted, such inventions must be badly wanted. But 
after I got my patents I discovered that nearly four thou- 
sand patents on non-refillahle bottles have already been 



PATENT SYSTEM EFFECTIVE. 97 

issued. As for patents on car couplers, the Patent Office 
is just overrun with them." 

My nephew gasped for breath, and gazed at the girl 
dubiously. "FOUR THOUSAND PATENTS on such a 
simple thing as a bottle stopper! It is impossible, Miss 
Sharp," he rejoined contradictorily. Swift lost his interest 
in the subject under consideration and gazed at the girl 
fixedly, believing he had discovered some peculiarity in 
her mental constituency of which he was wholly unaware, 
but made this emphatic statement to bring her to her 
senses. The girl guessed that he was seriously question- 
ing her statement and appealed to me mutely. 

"Yes, there are thousands of patents on non-refillable 
bottles, car couplers, and on almost every one of the sub- 
jects enumerated in the lists of inventions wanted and in 
the booklets containing suggestions of what to invent dis- 
seminated by Messrs. D & Co. and patent attorneys 

of their ilk. But this fact should mean nothing to you, 
for I mean to guard you against falling into any of those 
insidious traps and snares. If there were no way of mak- 
ing sure that after an inventor had done the best he could, 
and all he should, he will not be superseded by others, the 
entire patent system would indeed be a sad failure and a 
public nuisance. But there is a very effective way of 
precluding all others from making, using or selling any 
modification of the patented invention. So be at ease and 
learn all about that way and never depart from the right 
course." 

"What is that way?" both the young lady and her ad- 
mirer eagerly inquired in one breath, very much encour- 
aged by my assurance. 

"It is in the way the patent is made. 

"Countless modifications can be made and patented on 
virtually every invention. The flying machine invention. 



98 MODIFICATIONS CAN BE PATENTED. 

for example, is not quite three years old, and there 
are already quite a number of modifications thereof in use. 
But every one of the flying-machine inventors must pay 
the Wright brothers a license fee for permission to build 
and use his modification. The law does not require the 
inventor to disclose all the modifications possible, but to 
disclose the best mode in which he contemplates embody- 
ing the principles of his invention. Commerce requires 
no more. The purchaser of a patent right does not care 
how many modifications it is possible to make on the 
invention offered him. What he demands is a model or 
drawing showing the best mode in which the principles of 
the invention should be embodied and marketed, and a 
patent that will preclude all others from using the same 
principles, in whatever form they may be embodied, with- 
out paying him a license fee for permission to use them. 
''With a commercially desirable, legally recognized in- 
vention, the inventor's financial success depends entirely 
upon the quality of his patent. If the tripod utensil sup- 
port were covered by a patent of proper stamina, the in- 
ventor of the tubular utensil support, or of any other 
form of utensil support for holding the utensil adjustably 
in relation to the burner of a vapor-stove burner, could 
not use his invention, however superior it might be, 
without paying Miss Sharp a stipulated license fee for 
a license to make and market his invention. 

"The patent is the most important element essential 
to financial success by inventing. We will discuss the 
patent in all its phases later. At the present we are con- 
sidering the proper preparation of the invention for the 
patent. Before applying for the patent the invention 
should be elaborated to the highest degree of perfection 
possible. Mechanical perfection, in complicated or intri- 
cate mechanical structures, cannot be attained in one 
breath, nor can it be expected to emanate from one mind. 



A GOOD PARTNER DESIRABLE. 99 

In original complicated inventions co-operation is almost 
unavoidable. 

''The Wise Prophet said: 'Two are better than one, 
because they have a good reward for their labor. If 
they fall, one will lift up his fellow.' To obtain a good 
reward for your labor in inventing, your inventions must 
be first commercially desirable, next mechanically practi- 
cable, and then free from error, well developed and stu- 
diously elaborated to the highest degree possible. To 
attain such perfection two minds are always better than 
one. When one falls into error, complexity, or imprac- 
ticability, his coadjutor will lift him up and the result will 
be^ error, and consequent disappointment, avoided. The 
advantages of co-operation are too obvious to require 
comment. The second person usually begins where the 
first one left off, and the result is a longer stretch. I 
should therefore advise every person who wishes to be- 
come a practical inventor and make none but commer- 
cially desirable, carefully elaborated inventions to join, 
if possible, in this labor some like minded person of simi- 
lar aptitude, honesty, and ambition and assiduously work 
together for their mutual emolument and advantage. 
When two work on an invention they are termed "joint 
inventors" and the patent must be applied for by both 
parties and will be issued to both parties. 

"A suitable partner, or joint inventor, is, however, not 
so easy to procure. A progressive inventor endowed with 
a lively imagination will find it extremely difficult, if not 
at all impossible, to find a person of similar aptitudes and 
ambitions. But by a little judicious maneuvering one can 
easily obtain some criticism and suggestions which may 
greatly contribute to the elaboration of the invention. 
The successes of Thomas A. Edison, the most renowned 
inventor of this age, are said to be largely due to sugges- 
tions from his employees. Some of the largest and most 



100 COURT CRITICISM AND INVITE SUGGESTION. 

prosperous manufacturing and mercantile establishments 
in this country have "suggestion boxes" in their offices. 
Every one of their thousands of employees is requested to 
make some suggestion as to the best method of doing 
things in the particular department he is employed. In 
other words, the factory superintendents and the business 
managers invite their office boys, porters, and workmen 
to teach them their business. And superintendents and 
business managers very readily avail themselves of every 
suggestion that appeals to them as feasible whether it 
comes from some head man or from a chimney sweep. 

"I repeat, court criticism and invite suggestions of 
changes and alterations in the mechanisms of your inven- 
tions and freely avail yourselves of such as seem feasible. 
But bear in mind that the inchoate right in a nascent 
invention is a very frail creature of patent law [it has no 
existence in common law] and must be guarded jealously. 
Do not disclose your inventions to any interested person 
before the application for the patent has been filed. There 
are some men in this world who are always ready to say : 
1 thought of it before.' Beware of such persons and 
never mention the date of the conception of your invention 
to any person. 

"It often happens that one conceives a very valuable new 
and useful function and the means for performing the 
same, but the latter is not quite satisfactory to him and 
may require considerable time to work it out or to recast 
it entirely. Heretofore an inventor with such an inven- 
tion had recourse to a Caveat. The Caveat was a drawing 
and description of the invention, together with a petition 
and oath, deposited with the Commissioner of Patents. 
The Caveat was intended to afford the inventor all the 
time he may need to work out his invention in the most 
practical manner. The Caveat was kept in the secret 



TO PROVE DATE OF CONCEPTION. 101 

archives of the Patent Office, and when an appHcation for 
a similar invention was filed the caveator was notified of 
the fact and given three months time in which to file his 
complete application and subsequently prove priority. But 
the Caveat, to be effective, had to be drawn quite skill- 
fully, which was seldom the case, and was generally not 
clearly understood by inventors. And so Congress, by an 
act of July 1, 1910, repealed the laws relating to Caveats. 
Thus the laws that before afforded Caveat protection are 
now obsolete. 

"In the absence of Caveat or any other form of official 
provisional protection, the best course to pursue is to make 
a sketch of the machine or the mechanisms for performing 
the new function, however crude or impracticable the 
organization may be, attach thereto a description of the 
construction and operation of the machine written in your 
own way — that is, just as you would write the letter to a 
prospective purchaser of your invention, explaining the 
construction, operation and advantages of the machine; 
enclose the sketch and description in an envelop, address 
the letter to yourself, and mail it registered. When you 
get the registered letter do not open it or in any way alter 
any part thereof, but attach to it the receipt of the post- 
master and the return card and put the whole away 
securely. If at any time you are called upon to prove the 
date of conception of the invention and when the first 
drawing thereof was made, the sealed registered letter 
with the receipt and return card will be accepted as proof 
positive that you were in possession of the invention on 
the date the letter was mailed. The registered letter alone 
is sufficient, but the stamp on the letter may in course of 
time become obliterated. I therefore advise you to retain 
the receipt and the return card.'' 



102 HAPHAZARD INVENTING. 

My nephew became dissatisfied with his invention, and 
with an air of impatience exclaimed : ''Haphazard invent- 
ing is not Hkely to eventuate in an invention of apprecia- 
ble commercial value. We will no doubt have to con- 
fine our energies to a particular class, as you suggested. 
So please let us plunge into the subject at once." 

''Haphazard inventing is more likely to eventuate in 
some invention of appreciable com.mercial value than 
class inventing. All one has to do to make a fortune by 
inventing is to invent something of use to the masses. It 
matters not what that article is nor in what class it is, 
so long as it is new and capable of being brought into 
extensive use. The invention of a popular collar button, 
a garter, a toy, a household article of large sales means 
an immense fortune to the inventor. And the invention of 
an absolutely original thing for which there is extensive 
use, if protected by a patent of proper stamina, is a 
monopoly of inestimable value." 

Joseph Sharp suddenly jumped to his feet and an- 
nounced, with emphatic claim to priority, that he had 
just conceived a new and useful invention of the kind 
that must yield immense fortune, but not fame as his 
flying machine will bring him. His invention, he said, 
was a household article of which a dozen or more is found 
in every household, and that he can make dozens of such 
inventions every day. The last part of his announcement 
brought an involuntary snicker from his audience and cast 
a shadow of discredit upon his new invention. His sis- 
ter's curiosity had no bounds, but Joseph was somewhat 
apprehensive and hesitated to disclose his conception. 
Finally, after considerable importunity, he began: 

"Every claim in a patent begins with the words The 
combination, don't it? So a combination is of course 
patentable, ain't it?" I nodded in the affirmative and 
he continued : "Well, then, I conceived the idea of com- 



MEANING OF THE WORD COMBINATION. 103 

bining a tablespoon with a fork; that is to say, to form 
the tines of the fork in the end of the spoon handle, so 
that one does not have to have a lot of pieces around his 
plate at the table, and when buying silverware don't have 
to pay for both spoons and forks." My nephew snickered 
at the impractibility of his chum's ideas of useful inven- 
tion, and Miss Sharp blushed slightly and smiled at her 
minion brother's earnestness. 

' "The word combination, used in the claims to patenta- 
ble subject matter, means the combination of elements of 
which every self-contained or compound device or thing, 
however simple it may be, is necessarily composed. As 
an example, a needle is a combination of an eye, a body, 
and a point. The combination of two things each of 
which performs its former function independently of the 
other is not patentable, Joseph, for the reason that there 
is no new and useful function as a result of such combina- 
tion." 

Joseph was sad — very sad. Like every young and im- 
provident inventor, he felt a fortune was escaping him 
and struggled in his mind for some means of grasping 
hold of it. "Isn't there some way of getting some kind 
of a patent on my combination?" he inquired de- 
precatingly. 

"Why, yes. There is 'some way' of getting 'some kind' 
of a patent, Joseph. Every young inventor whose inven- 
tion is reported not patentable clamors for 'some way' to 
get 'some kind' of a patent on his invention, and the 
patent attorney appealed to suggests a design patent." 

"Can I get a design patent on my combination?" 

"Yes, you can, if it is not already patented [which it is]. 
But do you know what a design patent is and what sort 
of protection it affords? Of course you don't. Neither 
do the majority of the thousands of inventors that obtain 
design patents until they try to dispose of their property 
rights." 



"To behold is not necessarily to observe, and 
the power of comparing and combining is only 
to be obtained by education." — Humboldt. 

LESSON XI. 
Gears — Their Names and Uses. 

"My dear uncle is obviously not in favor of our be- 
ginning to invent before we have learned all an inventor 
ought to know," said my nephew to Miss Sharp. 

"We should spend a few weeks at least on seeing things 
in motion before we begin to invent," answered the young 
lady. 

"No one sees more things in motion than I do in the 
Navy Yard," said Joseph. "Yet my seeing does me little 
good. I can think of nothing to invent except my flying 
machine and the combinations which uncle says are not 
patentable." 

"The applicant for a position in the Pinkerton Detec- 
tive Agency," I told the tyros, "is subjected to the fol- 
lowing test: One of the detectives disguises himself as 
a plumber or a locksmith and with an armful of tools 
of his assumed trade passes quickly between the chief of 
the detective bureau and the applicant. The latter is then 
asked to tell what he had seen about the man that just 
passed. If the applicant is fit for the work of a detec- 
tive he will say, without further interrogation — if this 
be the detailed description of the man — 'the man that 
passed by just now is about 35 years old, 5 feet 10 inches 
tall, weighs about 160 pounds, has regular features, blue 
eyes, fair hair and a bronze mustache; he wore a blue 



INVENTOR MUST OBSERVE THINGS. 105 

shirt, brown overalls, and hob-nailed shoes, and carried 
a wrench, a hammer, a string of pipe couplings,' etc., 
or whatever the detail description of the man was. Now, 
you know that a thousand other people seeing the same 
man pass by could tell nothing more than that they have 
seen a man carrying a plumber's wrench and something 
else pass by. Seeing is not observing, Joseph. Visit a 
court of justice and observe the confusion of the wit- 
nesses' minds in trying to tell what they had seen and you 
will have a due appreciation of the difference between 
seeing and observing. 

"The practical inventor, like the detective, must ob- 
serve things, not merely see them. Everything you ob- 
observe must become emblazoned on your mind. After 
you have seen the shapes and forms of a large number 
of things you will be able to see all the details of an intri- 
cate piece of mechanism almost at a glance. 

''Gears enter into the construction of practically every 
piece of mechanism, and there are shapes and cuts of gears 
for all practical purposes. A thorough knowledge of all 
the gears in use is imperatively essential. Familiarize 
yourselves with all the shapes and forms and uses of 
gears. It will, however, take some years before you will 
have a chance to see in actual operation all the shapes 
and forms and uses of all gears in practical use. Here 
is a clever combination of all the various shapes and forms 
of gears in use and the names by which they are desig- 
nated : 



106 



GEARS AND THEIR USES. 




Furnished by the Boston Hear Works. 

1 is an elliptic spur gear with large minor axis ; 

2, an elliptic spur gear with small minor axis ; 

3, three small spiral gears with shafts in different planes 

4, a miter gear; 

5, a worm gear and worm ; 

6, a herringbone gear or special spur gear ; 

7, a bevel gear with planed teeth; 

8, an intermittent gear with four stops ; 

9, an oval gear; 

10, an intermittent miter gear with four stops ; 

11, an elliptic miter gear; 

12, a sprocket wheel and special steel chain. 



GEARS AND THEIR USES. 107 

''On page 108 is a similar combination of the various 
shapes and forms of brass gears available for the in- 
ventor's use in small models, and in the manufacture of 
small new mechanisms and a detail description thereof: 

"The cut is intended to show a group of gearing not 
usually seen combined in any one machine. 

''The mechanism is driven by a worm and gear under- 
neath through which power is transmitted to the miter 
gear in the center of the machine. Motion is communi- 
cated both right and left by means of two other miter 
gears. Gear 5 and mate are a form of oval gears. The 
holes being in the center, the curves on the periphery 
are formed in a much different way than for regular 
elliptics. 

"This style will give an acceleration and retardation 
alternately on each half revolution. 

"The elliptic gears marked 1, shown on the left side 
are made with the periphery of true elliptical form, and 
the pitch line of each is a perfect ellipse, and the centers 
of holes or shafts are in exact foci. In this form the 
alternate retardation and acceleration will occur on each 
revolution in place of each half, as in the case of the oval 
form described above. 

"Back of these elliptics may be seen a train of spur 
gears with fan regulator. 

"A little to the right will be seen an internal inter- 
mittent gear and pinion 2. 

"Underneath these gears is a right and left hand spiral 
with parallel shafts. This style is usually called helical 
spur gears. When made double to avoid end thrusts of 
shafts they are called double helical spur gears or 'her- 
ringbone' gears. This style, if made properly, will usually 
transmit motion smoother than ordinary spur gears, and is 
sometimes used where very high speed is desired. 



108 



GEARS IN MESH. 




o 

a 
o 

6 






GEARS AND WORMS. 109 

"Gear 6 illustrates a pair of skew bevel gears or bevel 
gears with the axes not in the same plane which, when 
quite a little distance from each other, should be replaced 
by spiral gears similar to those marked 9. 

"Gears 10, at the extreme right of the machine, are a 
special form of gears of two different pitches, viz: 24 
and 3 diametrical pitch. When one of the large teeth 
is in mesh with the corresponding space of the mate gear 
the speed of the driven axis is greatly and suddenly in- 
creased until the fine teeth are in mesh again. 

"The acceleration of the driven axis will occur at every 
half revolution, and is much more sudden than would be 
obtained by the use of elliptical gears in which there is 
a gradual increase and decrease of speed of the driven 
axis. 

"Gears No. 8 are an ordinary set of intermittents. 

"Back of these is a worm gear having many teeth, which 
is in mesh with a worm of corresponding pitch. This 
form is to illustrate an enormous reduction of speed. 

"The worm is single thread, and the gear having 150 
teeth it requires 150 revolutions of the worm to make 
one revolution of the shaft, making a speed reduction of 
150 to 1. If the worm were made with double thread 
the speed reduction would be only 75 to 1. If the worm 
were triple thread the speed reduction would be 50 to 1. 

"When the worm is made with more than four threads 
it is usually called a spiral gear. Spiral gears, some- 
times called helical gears, are simply a special form of 
worm and worm gearing in which the worm or driver has 
a large number of threads or teeth. 

"To use the spiral gears instead of ordinary worm 
gears is generally to make the speed reduction as small 
as possible. 

"With a single threaded worm and gear it is not prac- 
tical to have the ratio much less than 20 to 1, whereas 



110 SPROCKETS AND CHAINS. 

in spiral gears we can run them so as to be equal, or 1 to 1. 

'*The cut also shows several forms of sprocket wheels 
and chain. 

''The transmission of power by the use of chain in place 
of leather belting has for years interested many of the 
best mechanics, and it has been demonstrated that the use 
of a properly made chain will give very satisfactor)^ 
results. 

"The transmission of power in this way is more posi- 
tive than by the use of belting, and the diameter of 
sprocket wheels can be very much smaller than the diame- 
ter of pulleys in transmitting the same power." 



"Where we cannot invent we may at least im- 
prove; we may give somewhat of novelty to 
that which was old, condensation to that which 
was diffuse, perspicuity to that which was ob- 
scure, and currency to that which was re- 
condite." — Colton. 

LESSON XII. 
Improvements upon Improvements. 

At the conclusion of the foregoing lesson Joseph Sharp, 
Whose patience had reached the limit of endurance, de- 
manded to know my opinion of his flying machine inven- 
tion. One can read an inventor's temperament from the 
mechanical organization of his invention with almost 
unerring certainty. An examination of his sketch dis- 
closed the fact that Joseph Sharp was indeed a great 
genius, but thoughtless and impatient. The sketch 
showed unmistakably that its author was endowed with a 
marvelous inventive faculty, but being guided neither 
by rule nor by experience it simply ran riot and plotted 
a maze of impossible mechanisms. The entire machine 
was a complex labyrinth of levers, gears, springs, belts, 
chains, quadrants, sectors, wings, and propellers — any- 
thing and everything he could think of he stuck into it 
without regard to practicability. The mechanism alone 
would have required at least a twenty-five horse power 
engine to set it in motion, let alone lifting it with the 
framework from the ground and holding it suspended in 
the air. Still, it was theoretically an operative mechanism ; 
that is, in so far as the concatenation of the elements was 
concerned it was operative, but not as a flying machine. 



112 PROBLEMATICAL INVENTIONS. 

I became convinced that if Joseph would yield to 
guidance he might soon become a successful inventor. 
But most of the real inventive geniuses lack in patience 
and sober deliberation and therefore seldom, if ever, heed 
practical advice. And thus, without telling him what I 
thought of his machine, I said: "Almost every budding 
genius begins his creative career with inventing a per- 
petual motion machine, a submarine boat, a flying ma- 
chine, or some such problematical scheme. No doubt a 
striking improvement in flying machines is a valuable in- 
vention, Joseph, but not one-half as valuable as a striking 
improvement in drill presses, not one-tenth as valuable as 
a striking improvement in drill chucks, and not one-hun- 
dredth as valuable as a striking improvement in drills. 
Why in the name of common sense do you want to fool 
with flying machines ?" 

"Oh, well, so long as it is a valuable invention I would 
much rather fool with flying machines than with gaso- 
lene stoves or locks or drills or anything else, however 
more valuable these nick-nacks may be," he replied with 
absolute conviction of the wisdom of his course. "The 
honor of being the inventor of the best flying m.achine 
in the world is worth more to me than the difference in 
the money small inventions may yield." 

"It is not a question of money yield, Joseph. It is 
a question of whether there is even the remotest possi- 
bility of 3^our ever being able to carry out your project 
at all. Assuming that yours is the best flying machine in 
the world, and assuming that your construction is per- 
fectly operative and eminently practicable. It would 
take from $50,000 to $100,000 to develop and build your 
machine, and after your machine is built you will be the 
one to go up in it the first tim.e. You may have the nerve, 
or rather the foolhardiness, to go up in an untried flying 
machine, but have you the money or can /ou hope to get 



IMPROVEMENTS YET TO BE MADE. 113 

capitalists to invest money on your sketch ? You have no 
doubt noticed the frequently appearing advertisements in 
the papers, 'Wanted capital to patent and build the best 
flying machine ever invented.' Inquire of those inventors 
whether they had a single answer to their advertisements. 
Many foolish inventors come to Washington, D. C, ex- 
pecting the Government to buy their plans, and return 
home sadder but wiser. Don't misspend your remarkable 
talents and ebullient energy, Joseph, as thousands of 
young inventors do." Joseph was thoughtful, but not 
convinced. 

"Now, listen to me, Joseph," I continued, ''if you have 
genius enough to invent a flying machine and mettle 
enough to work at it till 2 o'clock in the morning, why 
don't you try to invent some striking improvement in a 
machine, apparatus, device, tool, or thing for which there 
is a demand or a demand could be created ?" 

"But everything else is as perfect as it can be made and 
cannot be improved upon !" he protested. 

"So we thought ten, twenty and fifty years ago; and 
three thousand years ago Solomon, the Wise, declared 
that there is nothing new under the sun. But as a mat- 
ter of fact in this world nothing is perfect or will ever 
be perfect. In this age nothing is tolerably good that can 
be made better. In this country at least nothing that is 
in extensive use is so small or insignificant as to be un- 
worthy of improvement. There is not a thing in this 
world that will not sooner or later be improved by some 
inventor. A few examples will furnish you incidents of 
striking improvements where least expected. 

"Ever since the slotted screw head was invented 
thousands of mechanics used screw drivers every day of 
the week. The multimillions of mechanics that used screw 
drivers during those years certainly thought the simple 
tool perfect and therefore proof against improvement. 



114 IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW DRIVERS. 

But the practical inventor, that is, the one who had ex- 
amined the screw driver with an eye to finding- out faulty 
performers of functions therein, found the simple thing 
faulty. The fault he found with the simple screw driver 
was the inconvenience experienced in its manipulation. 
In driving a screw the operator must release the screw 
driver handle about a dozen times or more and turn the 
palm of his hand on the head of the handle. 

"Having found out the faulty function the rest was 
easy. Since the fault laid in the frequent release of the 
screw driver handle, it is evident that a ratchet and pawl 
or a jaw clutch interposed between the shank of the 
screw driver and the handle the shank could be turned 
continuously without releasing the handle — and the now 
popular ratchet screw driver was created. 

"The introducing of the ratchet between the shank of 
the screw driver and the handle any mechanic, amateur 
mechanic or person having some knowledge of mechanics 
would have suggested if the inventor had only told him 
the fault he found with the thing or what function he 
wished the screw driver to perform. But without being 
told of the faulty performer of the function of the screw 
driver no one thought of introducing a ratchet between 
the shank and the handle. It is manifest that the most 
essential part of inventing lies in finding out the faulty 
performers of the principal function. The fault found 
the remedy suggests itself readily. 

"This is true in most every instance of simple in- 
vention. Suppose one should show you the hasp of a 
barn door and tell you, *I wish to do something to this 
hasp so that when I want to close the door without lock- 
ing it I shall not have to look for a tapered stick that 
is small enough at one end to enter the staple and large 
enough at the other end to prevent its falling through. 
What do you suggest?' It would be the work of but a 



CAUSE OF OUR SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS. 115 

few moments for you to conceive the idea that a hook 
riveted on the hasp would remedy this fault to perfection. 
The inventor who seeks to improve and simplify things 
already in use would conceive that by merely filing out or 
stamping the hasp so as to leave a projection extending 
into the slot he would thus form a hook and save the 
cost of the hook. He would thus accomplish the pur- 
pose, and banish the annoyance of finding chips ot 
wood to fit the staple, without any additional expense. 

"Our generation is the direct descendent of an age 
that knew untold drudgery. We are therefore still 
so callous that we readily put up with all sorts of an- 
noyances without a murmur. In fact, we are so hard- 
ened and used to inconveniences that we never give 
them a thought. But once it is shown us a way to get 
rid of any one of the petty annoyances, we would put 
up with it no longer. Ever since the Greeks of Phocea 
in Ionia begfan to coin money [about twenty-six cen- 
turies ago] the ever-busy patrons of the man behind 
the counter have been scratching, cussing, and fussing 
the obdurate thin, flat coin that refused to leave the 
smooth counter or the show case. Yet none of the billions 
thus annoyed, nor any of the ever obliging, urbane 
busy bodies behind the counters ever reflected thereon 
until recently one invented a bristled rubber mat from 
which the coin is picked up as readily as if the clerk 
held it out between the thumb and forefinger. Instances 
of exceedingly valuable small and simple inventions and 
improvements are legion. 

"Reverting to the improvement in the screw driver. 
As I said before, this simple tool was deemed faultless 
and, owing to its simplicity, immune against improve- 
ment. But, as usual, no sooner had one inventor found 
one faulty function in it than another inventor found an- 
other. This is the case in most every instance of radical 



'116 OBSERVATION, INTROSPECTION, ANALYSIS. 

invention or improvement, and there is nothing inequita- 
ble about it nor prejudicial to the first inventor's interests. 
Indeed, in many instances, the second invention or im- 
provement makes the first one commercially valuable 
when it was not so before. But this is no part of the 
theme of our present discussion. What I wish to show is 
that even on the apparently impossible, or the apparently 
most perfect things in extensive use, not only is im- 
provement possible, but even improvement upon improve- 
ment is possible; and that clear-headed observation, in- 
trospection, and analysis are the means to be employed to 
elicit such improvement. 

"As an illustration of clearheaded observation, intro- 
spection, and analysis, the second screw driver inventor 
wished to make himself useful and screw up the hinges 
while the carpenter was fitting a screen door in his home. 
After the inventor had given the screw driver a few 
turns he stopped musing. Suddenly a thought flit across 
his mmd and he hit the screw on the head with a ham- 
mer. Observing that, unlike driving a nail, the screw 
turns under the blow of the hammer, he again stopped 
musing. A few minutes later, conceiving the means for 
effecting self turning of the screw, the elated inventor 
flung the screw driver he had borrowed from the car- 
penter toward its owner and snapped at him with an 
air of over-tensioned patience: 'Go to blazes with that 
infernal, irksome thing, mister carpenter.' 

"The carpenter, a good mechanic, proud of his tools, 
or jewels, as good mechanics fondly call their tools, pro- 
tested against insulting his precious jewel. *I carry 
in my kit none but the best tools on the market,' he 
cried haughtily, 'and this is the best ratchet screw driver 
there is to be had, sir! You don't know a good thing 
when you see it.' 



THE RE-IMPROVED SCREW DRIVER. 117 

" 'Yes, the infernal wretched screw driver/ retorted 
the inventor acrimoniously, 'I have nearly twisted off 
my wrist with it. I kept on twisting and twisting and 
twisting and the screw is still half way out.' 

"'What screw driver would you expect me to carry? 
One that will drive the screw without twisting your 
wrist?' cried the offended mechanic indignantly. 

" 'Yes, sir. A good screw driver should drive the 
screw without the operator turning his wrist,' returned 
the inventor teasingly. 

" 'That's impossible, dear,' interjected the inventor's 
spouse. She was attracted by the noise of the altercation 
between the inventor and the carpenter and heard her 
husband's flagrantly nonsensical demand. 

" 'Yes it is, mothei . Pushing the screw driver against 
the screw is labor enough for a twentieth century me- 
chanic' 

" 'It can't be done, sir,' cried the carpenter, chuckling 
merrily. 'You must turn your wrist to turn the screw 
driver handle.' 

" 'Yes, it can. Just watch me do it. See ? The screw 
turns under the blow of the hammer.' The inventor 
drove a screw home with a hammer and called the car- 
penter's attention to the fact that the screw turns under 
stress of pressure. The carpenter, though a good me- 
chanic, but not a practising inventor, failed to perceive 
the effect to which the inventor called his attention. 

"The carpenter laughed heartily. 'Oh, you are off, 
sir! I have been driving screws ever since I was four- 
teen years old. The hammer won't supplant the screw 
driver, sir. The screw must be turned or you will break 
the hinge, split the wood, or enlarge the hole.' 

" 'Yes, turned by another screw, not by the hand,' re- 
joined the dignified observer. The carpenter caught the 
inkling and blushed to the very flat pencil under his ear. 



118 OBSERVE EFFECTS. 

"Straightening out lazily and scratching his head, the 
carpenter heaved a deep sigh and drawled out ruefully: 
'I know now what you mean, sir. Why didn't I think 
of that before? I have been driving screws partly with 
hammer and partly with driver for nearly forty years. 
I knew that a screw turns under pressure almost ever 
since the first year of my apprenticeship, yet I did not 
have sense enough to make use of this knowledge.' And 
there we have the popular automatic screw driver. 

"The automatic is a right and left screw, turning 
under pressure right and left, and by its own turning 
drives the screw in or out without turning the wrist. 
You see, the inventor first found out the faulty function; 
namely, that even with the improved ratchet screw driver 
the wrist had to be turned so many times before the 
screw was in place, then, looking for the remedy, he ob- 
served the effect pressure has on the screw. 

"Moral, observe effects and trace effects to their causes. 

*'The foregoing is quite sufficient to illustrate prin- 
ciples of inventing improvements in things apparently 
already perfect. Everything, large or small, intricate 
or simple, that is now in existence and in extensive use, 
was invented and improved by observing and remedying 
the defects, and everything that is now considered perfect 
will sooner or later be improved in the same manner. 
The field in the line of improvements is unlimited and 
good improvements are always in demand." 



"Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt; 
Nothing's so hard, but search will find it out." 



I^ESSON XIII. 
Kinds of Improvements to Invent. 

A few minutes of silence ensued after the last lesson, 
during which I busied myself with making certain notes 
of topics to discuss with the tyros. In the interim the 
tyros seemed very much engrossed with contemplation, 
obviously rmriinating on the gist of the preceding ex- 
position. My nephew, it seems, thought that it was the 
last of the lessons and squirmed in his seat as uneasily 
as a child given a short ride in a buggy does when he 
has to get off. At last he rose from his chair con- 
vulsively, as if anxious to go to work on something, 
and uttered almost unconsciously: 'With such an ex- 
tensive field for profitable inventing, and with the 
knowledge we now have of the art, all we have to do 
is to roll up our sleeves and go to work." 

"Yes, but to guess what to invent that the people need 
or want is a different proposition," mumbled Miss Sharp 
contemplatively. 

"Why, some patent attorneys distribute lists of in- 
ventions wanted and others distribute booklets sug- 
gesting what inventions to make," her brother informed 
them. 

"Bosh!" exclaimed my nephew impatiently. "These 
lists and booklets are in the possession of hundreds of 
thousands of inventors. No sane person would avail 
himself of such munificent tips. What do you sa)^, 
uncle?" 



120 KINDS OF INVENTING. 

*'I say forcible impressions resulting from studious 
observation and clear-headed introspection and analysis 
are the only suggestions that are likely to eventuate in 
profitable inventions. The useful arts are divided into 
two hundred and forty-one classes and each class is di- 
vided into sub-classes ranging in number from ten to 
over two hundred. Inventions are wanted in every one 
of the thousands of sub-classes." 

"Then you will give us a list of the classes and sub- 
classes from which we may select a suitable object for 
inventing." 

"The list of the classes and sub-classes makes a book 
of 85 pages. You can buy this book from the Patent 
Office for 10 cents, but it will be perfectly useless to you. 
I will reduce the contents of that 85-page book to ten 
lines of inventions or kinds of inventing. Each of these 
ten lines will direct your minds to a certain kind of in- 
venting. If you aspire to make none but safe and sane 
inventions select one of these lines and make this par- 
ticular kind of inventing your specialty — not to the exclu- 
sion of any of the other lines. 

Line 1. "Make machines, tools, devices, or things now 
in extensive use do more than what they do now. In other 
words, enlarge the scope of their functions. To give 
you a fair idea of what enlarging the scope of functions 
means, I will give you a few examples. 

"Until the invention of the monkey wrench a black- 
smith had to carry in his kit of tools a dozen or more 
wrenches to fit the various sizes of nuts. By making 
the wrench adjustable this annoyance was banished and 
one wrench does the work of a dozen or more wrenches. 

"Formerly a carpenter had to carry in his kit of tools 
a large assortment of auger bits. Now, the adjustable 
auger bit bores a number of sizes of holes. 



COMPREHENSIVENESS. 121 

"The steel yard and the platform weighing scales in- 
vention, which is a modification thereof, is a product of 
this kind of inventing. So is the adjustable screw plate, 
the extension table, the extension window screens, the 
adjustable window shades, and the thousand and one 
adjustable things now in extensive use. But the field is 
not yet filled. Thousands of inventions of this kind 
still remain to be made. 

"Inventions of this kind are very valuable and in con- 
stant demand. To make them, follow the course of 
criticism I have outlined in connection with the nippers, 
screw driver, and log-sawing machine, which in fact 
applies to inventing generally. Things made adjustable 
to different sizes to save either time, money, labor, or 
annoyance in their manipulation yield immense profits to 
inventors. 

2. ."Concentration is the spirit of our present age; 
miiltum in pai'vo, the slogan. The huge oak bedsteads 
of our foregathers are now made light, portable, and 
folding. Even chicken houses, barns, and dwellings are 
now made portable and adjustable. Adjustable inter- 
vening walls in brick houses have recently been advo- 
cated. Several kinds of foodstuffs are now catered 
ready and half ready cooked, in pallets, tablets and pow- 
ders. 

"Make stationary things portable and rigid things ad- 
justable, collapsible, extensible, contractible, or folding. 
If you can make one coat, one hat, or one pair of boots 
fit father, mother, son and daughter you will be mak- 
ing a commercially desirable invention. 

3. "Make tools and things interchangeable. 

"A poor farmer had a piece of land upon which it was 
hard to raise anything execept his dander. In addition 
thereto the concealed rocks snapped off the plow points 
at an alarmingly high rate. This of course kept him per- 



122 INTERCHANGEABILITY. 

niciously poor. While sitting on the mould board be- 
wailing the bereavement of a newly broken-off plow 
point, he conceived the idea of making the plow shares 
interchangeable. Simple as this invention is it was 
worth a fortune, because of the enormous savings of 
material — the mould boards, which had to be thrown 
away on account of the broken off points. 

''Think of the commercial value of the interchangea- 
ble pen points, the interchangeable pencil points, and 
the numerous interchangeable things now on the mar- 
ket. Formerly, boots were worn all the year round ; 
now, since the shoes were separated from the leggings, 
shoes alone are worn in the summer season and shoes 
with detachable leggings, which form composite boots, 
in the winter season. 

"The interchangeable collar and cuffs, the interchange- 
able buttons, and the interchangeable things of common 
use do not only effect a great saving in the cost of the 
articles, but are highly convenient and afford inexpen- 
sive means for enjoying variety. In some of the Euro- 
pean countries vest fronts and shirt fronts are made 
interchangeable, convertible, reversible; and that idea 
has recently been imported to this country. Numerous 
things and tools are yet to be made interchangeable. 
Inventions of this kind are highly remunerative . and 
eagerly sought after. 

4. "Combine two or more functions of separate things 
in one body. 

"Formerly every carpenter, every lather, and every 
thrifty householder had to have a hatchet wherewith to 
chop wood or trim laths, shingles, etc., a hammer to drive 
nails, and a pair of tongs to pull out bent nails. Now, 
one claw hatchet does the business of these three useful 
household and craftsmen's implements. Combinations 



COMBINATIONS. 



123 



of mechanics' tools, kitchen and household articles are 
very profitable, but they must be made judiciously to 
be patentable. 

"There are several combination tools and measuring 
and squaring instruments for mechanics' use on the 




market, but there is plenty of room for more. Invent 
combinations. Successful ones are very profitable. But, 
as I said before, combinations of two or more things or 



124 REORGANIZATION. 

devices must be made judiciously. The assemblage of 
a knife, fork, spoon, etc., or any combination of separate 
things in one body is not patentable, unless there is some 
novelty and utility in the nexus which unites the several 
devices. The several devices must depend on one another 
and jointly contribute to produce some new result. In 
a combined drill press and vice, the latter holds the 
work while the former operates thereon. In a combined 
typewriting and adding machine, the writing out of the 
bill and the amounts are performed simultaneously by 
the manipulation of the typewriter keys. The amounts 
are thus added up synchronously with the writing. 

*Tn a patentable combination of two or more devices, 
the devices must be so co-ordinated as to co-act and pro- 
duce a unitary result. On page 123 is a combination in- 
strument in which two pieces of scale are so combined 
as to co-act and jointly produce self-registering calipers, 
squares, etc. 

5. "Change the operative principle of things even 
if you effect no improvement thereby. Shoes are laced 
to hold them adjustably to the feet. Some shoes have 
buttons, others elastics, and still others buckles for the 
same purpose. There is no real advantage in one over 
the other, but people become weary over one style and 
long for a change. Then people have different tastes. 
One prefers one kind of shoe fastener and another, an- 
other kind. Competition is keenly active in every branch 
of manufacture, and variety and novelty to overcome or 
counteract competition is the present manufacturer's 
chief concern and therefore in great demand everywhere. 

"Take the typewriter, for instance. In some machines 
to write capitals the carriage is shifted, in others the 
type basket is shifted; in some machines the key levers 
are fulcrumed, and in others they are journaled. These 
are mere changes in the operative principles — the same 
thing only different. 



POWER-YIELDING DEVICES. 125 

6. "Make electrical or mechanical devices do what 
is now done by hand. 

"Think of the monstrous advantage the touching of a 
button to open the front door has over walking down 
three, four or more flights of steps to do it. Think of setting 
type by hand and having a machine to do it. Compare 
the rubbing clothes on a washboard and turning the crank 
of a washing machine to do it. Compare the sweeping 
carpets with a broom and having a carpet sweeper to do 
it. Think of the thousand and one different means, 
ways, and devices to save time and manual labor that are 
already in extensive use, and you will appreciate the 
commercial desirability of such inventions. 

"Thousands upon thousands of such means, ways, and 
devices still remain to be made. Inventions of this kind 
are highly remunerative and always in great demand. 
The field is practically unlimited, and to make them, the 
log-sawing machine is a fair exposition of the how, in 
fact, as I said before, of virtually all kinds of inventing. 

7. "Make animal power do what is now done by man 
power. 

"There are several styles and makes of horse power 
machines on the market, but, like the rotary log-sawing 
machines, they are not within the purchase price of poor 
farmers. Some of the present horse power machines are 
very cumbersome and some of them more or less awk- 
ward, and countless poor farmers still do a great deal 
of their hard work by hand, foot, or body. Farmers 
have horses and oxen. All they need is some simple, 
light, and inexpensive appliance to make the animal cut 
the feed, cut_ down the trees, pull stumps and do some 
of the numerous things that are still done by man power. 

8. "Devise special means for special purposes to re- 
lieve the toiler of some of his numerous tasks. Inven- 
tions in this line have an unlimited market. 



126 LAW ON APPLICATORY DEVICES. 

"Applicatory inventions, that is, inventions consisting 
of applying or adapting old and well known principles to 
new uses, are often very profitable. But such inventions 
are not always patentable. The legal aspect of this sub- 
ject of invention, while quite simple, is not generally 
understood by inventors, and even by some patent attor- 
neys, and many costly blunderings are the result. A thor- 
ough understanding thereof is therefore essential. 

"Patentable invention must be new and unknown, but 
it does not necessarily have to be so absolutely. For 
instance, hair clipping devices for clipping human hair 
were old and well known in hair trimming implements. 
A farmer adapted the principle of hair clippers to clip- 
ping grass [the mowing mxachine]. For the purpose 
of clipping grass they were new; not known to have 
ever been used for that purpose, and therefore patentable. 
Still the mowing machine was not patentable because 
the hair clippers have never been used for the purpose 
of clipping grass. If one adapts the human hair clippers 
to clipping sheep, horses, or dog's hair, even though 
clippers have never been used for that purpose, no pat- 
ent will be granted therefor, because such adaption is 
mere analogous, or double, use. Hair is hair, animal or 
human. Again if the hair clippers in the present shape, 
form, and construction — size is immaterial — could be used 
effectively for cutting grass, the use would be analogous 
and no patent would be granted for their adaptation to 
grass clipping, even though clippers have never been 
used for that purpose. Then, again, if the hair clippers 
used to trim human hair could not be used to clip animals' 
hair without making some change in the construction of 
the clippers, they would be patentable under that change. 

''The rule of law is that the adaptation of an old princi- 
ple to a new purpose is patentable only tmder the entity 
of the change that makes the thing available for that 



ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE. 127 

purpose. The magnitude of the change is wholly imma-^ 
terial. It may be a mere reversion of some of the ele- 
ments entering into the combination, which, while simple 
enough to make, skillful mechanics could not see the pos- 
sibility of. If by such apparently trivial change the old 
and well known principle becomes available for the new 
purpose, the adaptation of that old principle to that new 
purpose is patentable, and often commercially highly 
valuable. The inventor is entitled to predominating 
claims for the adaptation of the principle to the new 
use under the entity of the mechanical change in the 
structure of the thing. 

9. "Articles of manufacture now in common use or 
new ones heretofore unknown yield considerable profits 
to inventors. 

'The structural features of paper bags, envelopes, shoe 
laces, scarfs, and all sorts of wearing apparel, furniture, 
calendars, tickets, etc., belong to this kind of inventing. 
Everything that is duplicated by hand or machinery and 
is not a machine, art, or composition of matter is termed 
in patent law manufacture. 

*'A11 kinds of chemical compositions — except medi- 
cines — all sorts of pastes, polishes, dyes, varnishes, paints, 
enamels, and concoctions, are termed compositions of 
matter and legitimate subjects of the patent. Chemistry 
is a profound science. Unless one has made a thorough 
study of chem.istry he is not in a position to make a 
practicable invention of this kind. Still, a new com- 
position of matter is often the result of mere accident. 

10. "New and attractive configurations may be cov- 
ered by a design patent. Ornamental designs of watch 
cases, silverware, combs, cuff buttons, stove doors and 
bases, scroll work, and all sorts of arabesques and em- 
bellishments ; new forms and shapes of machinery, furni- 
ture, lamps, and things come under this kind of inventing 



128 DESIGN PATENTS. 

for profit. Designing is an art and a matter of taste. 
What you may deem comely others may think homely. 
A properly made mechanical patent covers all kinds of 
equivalents of the elements in the machine shown and 
described, while a design patent covers nothing but the 
precise configuration shown and described and any col- 
orable imitation thereof. The protection of the design 
patent is therefore very limited. 

"Patents for designs are granted for three-and-a-half, 
seven, and fourteen years. The life of a popular design 
is usually very short. The popularity being ephemeral, a 
three-and-a-half or a seven year patent is ordinarily all 
the period of protection one needs. The government fees 
for the three periods are $10, $15 and $30 respectively, 
and the attorney's fees are usually $25." 



''What Vv^e want is not learning but knowledge ; 
that is, the power to make learning answer 
its true end as a quickener of intelligence and 
widener of our intellectual sympathies." — Lowell. 



LESSON XIV. 
Electro-Mechanical Inventing. 

On the evening of the following day my nephew in- 
formed me that he had entered into co-partnership with 
my stenographer, presumably on the strength of my sug- 
gestion that two like-minded persons of equal aptitude 
could accomplish more than one. But a few interroga- 
tions and cross examinations relative thereto brought 
out the fact that their verbal pact of conjugation covered 
a co-partnership of the illimited~responsibility-and-per- 
petual-continuance-without-renewal type. Briefly, the co- 
partners mutually agreed to co-operate primarily in the 
advancement of their joint and several felicity, and also 
in the advancement of the useful arts. I congratulated 
them heartily and concluded my congratulations with a 
fervent avuncular benediction. 

After a few minutes of chat and facetiousness anent the 
co-partnership my nephew assumed a serious mien, moved 
his chair close to mine, and said: "Uncle, dear, I have 
accepted a job in a book printing ofifice. My salary will 
be very small to maintain a decent home and a respecta- 
ble standing in society, but, thanks to you, we have hopes 
of making some money out of inventing which will help 
us along. Both our inventions you say you have found 
on the records in the Patent Office partly anticipated 

9 



130 KNOWLEDGE OF ELECTRICITY ESSENTIAL. 

by prior patents, and, though still patentable, you do not 
consider them worth while; so we must abandon them. 
This, however, does not discourage us in the least. In- 
deed, it rather encourages us, since it shows that we are 
capable of conceiving new and patentable principles, only 
in the present instance we happened to be a little too late. 
Now, as we are capable of inventing, we shall work away 
for dear life's sake on the system you have outlined for 
us and make earnest and well directed efforts to educe 
something real practical and commercially valuable. 

''You have given us a wonderful start in mechanics. 
During the past three days we have severally traced the 
leverage of a large number of mechanical movements in 
operation. In consequence whereof we have acquired 
knowledge of a large number of mechanical principles. 
But as you said, and we feel the need of it, the practical 
inventor must be a sort of pansophist; he must know 
everything, and electricity claims our earnest attention. 
In fact, it claims our immediate attention. 

"Last evening when we left here we sauntered down 
Pennsylvania Avenue and leisurely promenaded up and 
down the Avenue sidewalk while we were conversing. A 
photographic display in a window attracted Lillian's 
[Miss Sharp's] attention, and we stopped to look at the 
pictures. A hexagon display cabinet bearing very in- 
teresting war pictures was revolving at a most provoking 
speed. Before we had time to discern the images, the 
cabinet whirled around. After several futile attempts 
to catch a glimpse of the war scenes we had to leave the 
window without seeing them. 

"Discussing the disappointment, Lillian observed: 
'Wouldn't it be better if that cabinet were actuated by 
an intermittent rotary movement controlled by electricity 
and have a push button outside the window, so that after 
the spectator had carefully examined the pictures on one 



BRIEF EXPOSITION ON ELECTRICITY. 131 

side of the cabinet he could push the button and have the 
thing present the next side?' I thought it would be a 
grand scheme and probably hailed with delight by win- 
dow displayers, and consequently a commercial success. 
But neither of us knows a thing about electricity. 

"Books on electricity, as on every other technical science, 
are very redundant ; and we, advanced in years and burn- 
ened with many cares, have neither time nor inclination to 
study them. We should be exceedingly grateful to you 
for showing us a short cut to a knowledge of electricity, 
if possible, uncle." 

"Electricity is a profound science," I told them. "In 
its application it embraces within its scope mechanics, 
chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Books on the sub- 
ject, it is true, appear to the beginner irksome and the 
subjects treated provokingly diffused. I shall try to give 
you a few points on the practical application of simple 
electricity. 

"Electricity is an imponderable, invisible, powerful 
physical agent that makes its presence known through 
certain mediums, by heat and light, attraction and repul- 
sion, deposition and decomposition of certain metals, and 
certain other phenomena. Whatever else electricity is, 
does, or is capable of performing, to the mechanical in- 
ventor nothing but its magnetic influence upon, or mag- 
netic induction into, soft iron is of practical value. 

"Take a piece of soft iron rod, bend it in the shape of 
a horse shoe, or an ordinary well annealed horse shoe 
for that matter, wrap each end thereof with a continuous 
length of insulated copper wire and attach the two ends 
of the wire to an electric battery, as in this sketch, and 
you have a powerful horse shoe magnet. 

"Disconnect one end of the wire from the battery, or cut 
the wire at any point, and the iron instantly loses its mag- 
netism. This is the only difference between an electro- 



132 



THE ELECTRO MAGNET. 



magnet and an ordinary horse shoe steel or loadstone 
magnet, and the only momentous feature that makes 
electricity available for practical mechanical use. The 




former can be made to lose its magnetism instantly and 
thus release the thing, called armature, held thereby while 
the latter, retaining its magnetism permanently, anything 
held thereby cannot be detached therefrom except by a 
force greater than its own. 

"Observe that in order to make the iron rod for a 
magnet, the wire wrapped around the two ends of the 
bent rod of the horse shoe must be continuous and when 
connected with the two poles of the battery forms what is 
termed a complete circuit. The electricity starting at the 
positive pole flows through the continuous wire to the 
negative pole of the battery, and so long as the current 
flows in the wire the iron is a magnet. 

"To make the armature vibrate in rapid succession, as 
in an electric bell, a make-and-break is introduced in the 
complete circuit ; and to facilitate the starting and stopping 
the vibrations of the armature, a push button is intro- 
duced in the circuit. Procure an electric bell outfit, con- 
nect it up in accordance with the directions usually fur- 



ELECTRICAL DEVICES. 133 

nished, and studiously observe the effects of the make- 
and-break feature in the bell. The slight flashes of light 
seen between the platinum point in the end of the adjust- 
ing screw and the platinum disk on the spring are due to 
the imperfect break in the circuit which occurs at that 
point. The instant the circuit is completed by the contact 
of the two pieces of metal in the push button, the armature 
in the bell is attracted by the electro-magnet. The con- 
tact spring, being attached to the armature, is by the 
attraction of the armature withdrawn from contact with 
the platinum pointed screw. The circuit being thus 
broken, the magnet loses its magnetism and the spring, by 
its own tension, returns to its normal position and re- 
establishes the contact, or makes the circuit. The making 
and breaking of the circuit in rapid succession causes 
the armature to vibrate rapidly. 

"The principle of the electric bell is present in the 
electric shocking devices, and with some modification in 
the make-and-break and in the construction of the push 
button in the electrical anunciator, telegraph apparatus, 
fire alarm, etc. 

"Procure a toy electric motor, trace the circuit and find 
out why the armature revolves rapidly. The two ends 
of every magnet are called 'poles.' One end is called 
'north pole,' because when a bar magnet is suspended in 
the air that end will point toward the north, and the 
other is for the reason of pointing southwest called the 
'south pole.* The continuous rotation of the armature 
in an electric motor is effected by the well-known pecu- 
liarities of the miagnet that like poles of two magnets 
repel each other and unlike poles attract each other. It 
is the successive changes of the polarity, and the conse- 
quent alternate attractions and repulsions, that produces 
the continuous rotary motion of the armature in an elec- 
tric motor. 



134 ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED DEVICES. 

"A dynamo is in its principles of construction practi- 
cally the same as an electric motor. Study the electric 
bell and the toy motor and look for the same features in 
similar devices, and you will soon become pretty well 
educated in applied electro-mechanical electricity. 

"Now to produce electro-mechanical means for impart- 
ing intermittent rotary motion to the hexagon display 
cabinet you spoke of, the arrangement shown in this 
sketch may serve to illustrate a simple controlling me- 
chanism. 




"One end of the continuous wire of the electro-magnet 
is connected to the push button and the other to a bind- 
ing post containing an adjusting screw. The ratchet 
wheel, to be attached in the center of the bottom of the 
rotatabie hexagon cabinet, has six teeth and is provided 
with a spiral spring under the influence of which the 
cabinet tends to rotate in one direction. The armature 
is provided with a pav/1 piece which is normally in en- 
gagement with one of the teeth in the- ratchet wheel, also 
a spring for holding said pawl piece normally in en- 



THE SPIRAL SPRING. 135 

gagement with one of the teeth in said ratchet, and an 
extension normally in contact with the adjusting screw 
previously mentioned. The positive pole of the battery 
is connected to the armature and the negative pole to the 
push button. 

*'A touch on the button would cause the electro-magnet 
to attract the armature and thereby release the ratchet. 
The cabinet would then rotate, but it will be instantly in- 
tercepted by the released armature and thus prevented 
from rotating more than one-sixth of a revolution. Of 
course the cabinet would have to be wound up every morn- 
ing or so, but this is merely a suggestion of accomplishing 
the result you conceived by means of an electro-magnet 
and the simplicity and cheapness of the device should 
commend itself. An electro-magnetic mechanism has the 
very great advantage that the pliable wires can be led 
through all sorts of nooks and corners and the me- 
chanism can be actuated by a mere touch on a push 
button. 

"A spiral spring is a poor motive force and should not 
be employed except for driving very light movements 
for a brief period of time. To attain any degree of 
regularity in the expansion of the spring, it must be held 
under control by some sort of an escapement as in a 
clock or a spring motor. It may, however, do in the 
present instance or for similar purposes. The spring be- 
ing in the present instant controlled by the armature. 

''Unless one has made a thorough study of the theory 
and practice of electricity he should not attempt to invent 
a new motor, dynamo, or battery. Electric motors are 
now made in all sorts of styles, shapes, forms, speeds, 
and sizes for all practical purposes, and at prices within 
the reach of the humblest. Batteries are now made in 
all sorts of styles, shapes, and sizes; dry and wet, for 
open-circuit — transient use — and for closed circuit — con- 



136 STORAGE BATTERIES. 

tinuous use. Dry open circuit batteries are now to be 
had as small as half of an inch in diameter and less than 
three inches in length. But remember this : The electro- 
motive force of all styles and makes of batteries ranges 
from one to two volts per cell. To light an ordinary 
16-candlepower incandescent electric light requires 110 
volts and the life of the best battery under such con- 
tinuous use is at the utmost only a few hours. Therefore 
do not make the mistakes some inventors occasionally 
do and invent an electrically driven elevator actuated by 
a few dry batteries conveniently stowed away under the 
tender's seat, or some such absurdity. 

"For driving electrically-propelled vehicles and certain 
other purposes, storage batteries are used. But imtil 
you are thoroughly familiar with the peculiar nature of 
storage batteries, open and closed circuit batteries, dyna- 
mos, motors, etc., do not attempt to make inventions or 
improvements in any of them or depend upon the propell- 
ing power of any of them, except perhaps for actuating 
light mechanical movements which for transient use can 
be operated by a few cells of liquid or dry batteries. 



"The best may slip and the most cautious fall, 
He is more than mortal that ne'er err'd at all" 

LESSON XV. 
Foolish Inventions. 

During the few minutes intermission that ensued my 
nephew seemed to indulge in some thought his sweet- 
heart could not divine. Ever apprehensive he might be 
thinking of something he should not, she sidled over to 
him, fondled him, and to divert him from his thought 
broached : "Well, dear, we have been duly initiated in the 
craft of mechanical creators and, judging from the trials 
we have made at inventing, your uncle assured me this 
morning that we have the making of practical inventors. 
Now what do you think will happen?" 

"Why, my darling, I hope we will invent something 
that will yield us a little fortune, and then we will try to 
make things happen to suit ourselves. We will buy a nice 
little home, furnish it prettily, install a little laboratory 
or workshop, and with these facilities we will be in a 
position to make better inventions." William Swift is 
not a mechanic, but he has a natural mechanical turn of 
mind and is very fond of tinkering with tools. It is 
probably because of the natural inclination to make things 
that he turned out later a clever inventor. 

His sweetheart became alarmed. 'He is entertaining 
hope which may not materialize very soon and then he 
may again become distressed," she thought to herself. 
She was undecided as to whether she should encourage 
or discourage his expectations. Finally, after a few 



138 FREAKISHNESS OF HUMAN MIND. 

moments' cogitation, she assented: "Yes, dear, I hope it 
will all come true and soon too. But we must not be 
too sanguine. That something that will yield us a little 
fortune may not happen as soon as you expect. I am as 
optimistic as you are, and perhaps more so, and certainly 
do not wish to discourage you. But your uncle told me 
this morning that we must not bank on the possible pro- 
ceeds resulting from our inventing. For while it is quite 
possible for us to conceive some invention of intrinsic 
commercial value very soon, it is also possible that we 
may first make a few foolish inventions, and perhaps one 
or two freak inventions, and then some practical inven- 
tion but of small commercial value, and finally strike 
something that will eventuate in appreciable financial 
success. Don't count your chickens before they are 
hatched, dear. The human mind is often freakish and 
at times strangely capricious, and when you have to de- 
pend entirely upon its working, as the inventor must, 
there is no telling what pranks it may play you. I have 
heard some eminent inventors tell that they have neglected 
to patent certain inventions of theirs because they did 
not think them practicable enough to be worth the 
cost of the patents, which other inventors have later 
patented and made phenominal successes of them. But 
they did patent some ludicrous mechanical freaks. But 
it was through these hard knocks that they have finally 
developed into practical and successful inventors and 
made their fortunes." 

The two young men seemed greatly disturbed. Like 
every young and inexperienced inventor, they did not 
count upon possible failure. "Making money by invent- 
ing," I interposed, ''looks easy enough, and indeed is 
easy enough. All one has to do is to invent some simple 
thing that is capable oi being brought in extensive use 
and make one or two million dollars out of it. Others 



EXAMPLE OF ERRATIC JUDGMENT. 139 

have done it and some are doing it now. But the simple 
things of extensive use, you will find out at the first 
attempt, refuse to come. Indeed, they seem to be entirely 
exhausted. The inventor of the gimlet point, which 
eventuated in the wood screw, is said to have lost his 
mind in seeking after another simple thing of such ex- 
tensive use. Nor is anything absolutely original at this 
stage of our industrial progress so easy or even at all 
possible to conceive. You will have to look for some 
striking improvements on things already in use. Ap- 
preciable improvements can only be made on the more 
or less complex things. Practically all of the success- 
ful inventions are now made by completely reorganizing 
the whole machine or apparatus so as to make it do bet- 
ter or more work than before or to do something it did 
not do before. At the deciding whether the reorganized 
old thing is a needed improvement or not the tendency to 
err is very great; not only on the part of the inventor, 
but on the part of the manufacturer and his business 
directors. Indeed, most of the errors attributed to in- 
ventors are errors of judgment on the side of the attribu- 
ters, not on the side of the inventors. 

"As an example of erratic judgment on the part of men 
who ought to be able to judge correctly, an improvement 
on — in fact, a mere reorganization of — a certain kind of 
machine in extensive use was once offered to the manu- 
facturers of such machine for only a few thousand dol- 
lars. As a rule, and wrongly so, inventors offer their 
creations to the most prosperous of the manufacturers in 
that line. The most prosperous of the manufacturers of 
that machine, to whom the machine was first offered, 
were a twenty-million dollar corporation with offices all 
over the world selling their make of that machine, and a 
few thousand dollars meant very little to them. After 
that newly invented reorganization went the rounds of 



140 VALUE OF SELF-RELIANCE. 

inspection by the numerous experts employed by that 
company, and then well considered by the board of di- 
rectors of that company, it was adjudged to be of no 
value to the company and returned to the inventor. And 
once the most prosperous of the manufacturers in a cer- 
tain line decline to consider an improvement, all the 
others seem to follow their judgment. The inventor sub- 
sequently induced an individual who happened to have a 
few thousand dollars to his name to go in with him and 
both started to manufacture the reorganized machine un 
a small scale. The new machine soon became very popu- 
lar, so much so that it nearly crowded the old firms out 
of existence. That great corporation would later have 
paid not only a few thousand dollars, but a few million 
dollars perhaps for that invention, but it was too late and 
all they could do was to wait until the patent had expired 
and then reorganize their machine on the lines of that 
popular machine, and so did all the other manufacturers 
of such machines 

"As a matter of fact every invention is a freak, out of 
the ordinary, or else it would not be an invention at all, 
and because of that the most sagacious business man 
cannot possibly foretell the probable success or failure of 
an invention. The announcement of the invention of the 
sewing machine, typewriter, telegraph, telephone, aero- 
plane, and practically of every large or small invention 
now in extensive use has been relentlessly derided by 
some of the most sagacious business men here and 
abroad. Your own judgment will deceive you many 
times, but the defective judgment of others will affect 
you perhaps more than your own and be responsible for 
most of your failures. Never be daunted by the most 
lacerating ridicule or antagonistic criticism on your in- 
vention. Gather all the information on the subject you 
can. Consult those who ought to know. Court criticism. 



TRUE MERIT WINS. 141 

Listen attentively to everybody and use your own judg- 
ment. If you fail and have nobody to blame for it, the 
lesson will be worth the price you may pay for it. If 
you have to blame others for your failure, the lesson 
will be lost on you. 

"Thorough education in a certain line together with 
some experience makes the person of twenty years of 
age as wise in that line as the one of seventy years with- 
out a preliminary training. With the specific instruc- 
tions, information, and advice I have given you, you are 
far advanced above the uninformed young inventor. But 
the inventor, even at seventy with all his large and varied 
experience and huge stock of accumulated facts at that 
age, makes foolish inventions. Thomas A. Edison is the 
most renowned inventor of this inventive age, and he 
makes foolish inventions, and many of them, too. 

"The world calls every invention that does not go into 
practical use a foolish invention. A great number of 
inventions did not come into practical use until several 
years after the patent had expired, because their inventors 
lacked the requisite knowledge to work them out properly 
or the tact and energy to present them properly. For the 
same reasons a large number of inventions did not come 
into practical use until two or three years before the 
expiration of the patent. But when they did come into 
use the remaining brief period yielded the inventors 
immense fortunes. The roller skate is one of the latter, 
presumably foolish, inventions. The patent was lying 
idle for fourteen years, and when the inventor finally 
took the proper steps and put his invention in operation, 
the last three years yielded him about one million dol- 
lars in royalties. As a rule, an invention that does not 
come into practical use is not a foolish invention. It is 
simply the product of an uninformed, timid, or lax in- 
ventor. An invention that possesses marked utility, as 



142 SHADOWS OF PATENTS. 

every invention should, will sooner or later come into 
practical use. Manufacturers are constantly seeking for 
improvements, and if real improvement is present, proper 
business tact and energy will put it to use or otherwise 
convert it into cash. 

"It must, however, be admitted that there are tens of 
thousands of patents which will never materialize or 
ever be cashed, simply because they are in effect but 
shadows of patents [fool patents, if you please]. Some 
of those patents enunciate no invention and others that do 
enunciate appreciable invention failed to claim it. In 
either case such patents are of no value whatever. And 
there are some foolish inventions, often made by inven- 
tors possessed of considerable inventive ingenuity, 
sagacity, and acumen, that are just foolish inventions and 
nothing else. I could fill several volumes with illustra- 
tions of the most curious types of mechanical freaks I 
often encounter among the patents in the Patent Office. 
These foolish inventions are flagrantly due to the im- 
patience of their inventors while racking their brains for 
subjects for inventing. These inventors have never 
learned how to look for a promising subject of invention 
by means of studious observation, introspection, and ana- 
lysis, and being unwilling to wait for an inspiration con- 
coct some kickshaw and apply for a patent." 



"The care of our national commerce redounds 
more to the riches and prosperity of the public 
than any other act of government." 



I.ESSON XVI. 

The Third Essential of a 
Commercially Valuable Invention. 

"We have learned all about the proper way of making 
inventions, the kinds of inventions to make, etc. But, 
however great a public need the machine of your inven- 
tion may supply, and however well the machine of your 
invention may be elaborated, unless its invention is pro- 
tected by a tenable patent it is commercially valueless. 
It would seem that every person who owns a patent 
should know at least what a patent is. But as a mutter 
of fact many inventors have but a vague idea of what 
a patent really is. 

"A patent is an instrument issued by the government 
with the aid of which the inventor is enabled to defend 
his own product. Product is of two kinds: Tangible 
and intangible. Tangible product is easily protected. 
Artists, jewelers, artisans and manufacturers exhibit 
their tangible products to p/ospective buyers with per- 
fect safety. The producer explains minutely the in- 
trinsic value of his product, but the listener cannot obtain 
that product without compensatioti. Should he attempt 
to seize the tangible product and run away with it, the 
police would run after him and club or shoot him down, 
if necessary, recapture the stolen product, and return 
it to its owner. But intangible product cannot be pro- 
tected by physical force. 



144 PATENT IS A PROPERTY RIGHT. 

"Suppose the inventor of a valuable improvement in 
a certain article should come to the manufacturer of that 
article and explain his intangible product to him. The 
manufacturer may thank him for the suggestion, or even 
not thank him at all, and with perfect impunity manu- 
facture and sell the improvement without paying the 
inventor a single dollar for the product of his brain. 

"Unlike tangible products, intangible products, like 
building lots or farm lands, bear no permanently em- 
blazoned or impressed mark, stamp, or serial number by 
which the inventor could prove the ownership of his 
ideas. The patent, like the deed to realty, describes the 
nature and extent of the inventor's intangible product 
and stamps and marks the description with the seal of 
the United States Government and a serial number, and 
thereby renders the intangible product tangible. Being 
a tangible product the patented brain product has an 
intrinsic commercial value, like that of a deed conveying 
realty, commensurate with the extent of the area it con- 
veys to the holder thereof and the art it advances. 

"A patent, like a deed of realty, is a property right 
of intrinsic commercial value. It can be mortgaged, 
leased, or sold, in whole or in parts. The only difference 
between the patent and the deed is that the possession of 
the property right conveyed by the deed is permanent, 
and the possession of the property right conveyed by the 
patent is limited to seventeen years. For seventeen years 
from the date of issue of the patent the patentee has 
an absolute monopoly in the thing he patented, and no 
other person within the United States and the territories 
thereof has the right to make, use, or sell the patented 
portion of the machine or thing without the written consent 
of the patentee. 

"The grant of the patent is not only not absolute, but 
positively conditional, and the conditions upon which the 



THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. 145 

patent is granted are not merely implied, but very clearly 
and expressly defined. The validity of the patent is de- 
pendent upon two conditions : First, the specification must 
define the principles of the invention and describe the 
construction of the machine, apparatus, or whatever the 
invention may be, in such full, clear, concise, and exact 
terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science 
to which the invention appertains, or with zvhich it is 
most nearly connected, to make, construct, compound, 
and use the same without applying anything but ordi- 
nary skill. Second, the claim or claims must particularly 
point out and distinctly claim the part, improvement, of 
combination of the patented invention. Failure to com- 
ply with either of these two conditions invalidates the 
patent — and many are the patents that fail to comply 
\\r\ih either one or the other of these two conditions, and 
some of them with both." 



10 



"Pettifoggers in law and empirics in medicine 
have held from time immemorial the fee sim- 
ple to a vast estate, subject to no alienation, 
diminution, revolution nor tax — the folly and 
ignorance of mankind," — Colton. 



LESSON XVII. 
The Free Preliminary Examination. 

The next evening Joseph Sharp came up somewhat 
earlier than usual and unceremoniously took a seat at 
my desk and laid down a sketch and a check for $30, 
made out by his mother in my name, and in a grave 
and dignified business-like way said : "I want an ap- 
plication for a patent on this little invention prepared 
and filed as soon as possible." 

"Why did you make your mother draw a check for 
$30, Joseph? Five dollars is all I charge for a pre- 
liminary examination." 

*'It doesn't need any prelimJnarv examination." 

"Why so, Joseph?" 

"I know it is patentable," he answered, squinting at 
his sister and smiling wisely. 

I examined the sketch and handed it to my nephew, 
who came in a few minutes after Joseph had entered 
and itched to see the latter's invention. It showed a 
remarkably clever clutch mechanism. The principles 
involved and the construction of the clutch elements 
were new to me, and I had good reason to believe that 
they were broadly new in view of the state of the art. 
But who can tell that there is not something like it on 
record! "What makes vou think that vour invention 



LULLED INTO A FATUOUS ASSURANCE. 147 

is patentable and does not need a preliminary examina- 
tion?" I asked the young inventor, somewhat puzzled 
at his asseverative tone. 

"I made sure of it before I came up," he asserted with 
an air of the man who knows his business and never 
deviates from the prescribed rules. 

His sister had told me a day or two before that Joseph 
had made the rounds of local patent attorneys and had 
writen to many out-of-town attorneys for free litera- 
ture and had thus gathered a mass of ' client-hatching 
literature which he was busily perusing with great 
relish. I therefore readily guessed how he made "sure" 
of it. But I have seen enough of the improvident in- 
ventor to know his touchiness when his wisdom is ques- 
tioned. I therefore pretended to study his sketch while 
I was thinking of how to handle him. His sister, though 
not whoU)^ unaware of the manner in which he had 
made "sure," became impatient and inquired: 

"How did you make sure of it before you came up 
here, Joseph?" 

"That's my business, sis," he answered with arrogant 
self importance. 

"We may want to find out whether our inventions 
are patentable without bothering uncle about it," argued 
my nephew. "Do, please, tell us how you made sure 
that your invention is patentable before you came up 
here." 

"Yes, go ahead and tell them all about it," I re- 
joined. "They have still a great many things to learn 
about the business of successful inventing, which cannot 
be affected without successful patenting, and every ray 
of knowledge helps the earnestly striving inventor. Tell 
them how you made sure of it, Joseph. You are not 
so selfish as to keep such important information from 
your own sister and future brother-in-law, are you?" 



148 SPECIOUS ADVERTISEMENTS. 

"Well, I don't mind telling all about it," he drawled 
with affected hesitancy. In reality he was anxious to tell 
of his clever business management of which he thought 
himself quite capable. 

"1 finished the sketch of my sure-grip-and-quick-release 
clutch last night and showed it to my mother. She 
thought it vv^as a good thing and gave me $5 to pay you 
for the preliminary examination. This morning, while 
I was waiting for the breakfast, I picked up a monthly 
magazine and noticed an advertisement by a prominent 
patent attorney company of this city which read something 
like this : 'Send us a model, photograph, or sketch and de- 
scription of your invention and we will advise you free 
of charge whether your invention is patentable.' I 
showed the advertisement to my mother and she said : 
*If that company is willing to tell you whether or not 
your invention is patentable free of charge, what's the 
use of paying $5 for the same information. Go right 
up and let them tell you whether or not your invention 
is patentable.' So I made a duplicate sketch and took 

it up to Messrs. D & Co., the advertisers. Mr. 

D told me to call again at 1 P. M., and when I called 

again he informed me that in his opinion my invention 
is patentable, and urged me to give him a deposit of $10 or 
$20 and he will start on the official drawings at once. 
I told him that I did not have any money with me and 
left the sketch. 

"In the same magazine there was another advertise- 
ment by Messrs. F & Co., a very large and promi- 
nent patent attorney company. This advertisement read 
something like this : '$5,000,000 offered for one inven- 
tion, $1,000,000 for another, $20,000 for still another; 
write for list of inventions wanted and a booklet of 
suggestions as to what to invent; send sketch and de- 
scription of your invention for free search; money re- 



THE GULLS AND THE CULLERS. 149 

turned if no patent is allowed/ etc. I had not noticed 

this advertisement until I returned from Messrs. D 

& Co., so I quickly made another sketch and ran right 

over to Messrs. F & Co.'s office. The business 

manager of F & Co. told me that their trained ex- 
perts and specialists can get a patent on most anything, 
and that he is quite sure that they can get me a patent; 
and if they fail to procure the allowance of a patent 
the $25 which they charge for preparing and prosecuting 
the application will be returned to me, so that if no patent 
is allowed I will lose only $20 instead of $50. I inter- 
viewed two more patent attorneys and one of them told 
me that he has had thirty years experience in searching 
the patent records and knows a patentable invention when 
he sees one. He assured me that my invention is pat- 
entable and urged me to give him a deposit of $10 and 
he will start on the case at once. So I have the assurance 
of two big patent attorney companies and one attorney 
who has had thirty years experience in searching the 
patent records that my invention is patentable." 

"And what did the fourth patent attorney say?" in- 
quired my nephew eagerly. The lad hesitated. 

"Well — he said that he had no doubt that my clutch 
mechanism contained considerable novelty, but asked for 
$5 to tell me how much of it is patentable. What do 
I care to know how much of my invention is patentable 
so long as I know it is patentable !" Such is the logic 
of the improvident inventor. 

The imaginary sick and ever ailing called into ex- 
istence a class of free-consultation and no-cure-no-pav 
doctors, and the uninformed, improvident inventors called 
into existence a class of free-search and no-patent-no- 
pay [contingency- fee] patent attorneys. The specious ad- 
vertisements of such doctors and such attorneys and the 
millions of booklets and circulars, lists of symptoms 



150 BUSINESS POLICIES. 

and list of inventions wanted annually distributed by such 
doctors and such attorneys, hatch out such patients and 
inventors galore. The uninformed aspirants to win for- 
tune by inventing are led to believe that all one needs 
is a patent of some kind and fortune is his, and therefore 
they do not care to know how much of their inventions are 
patentable so long as they are told that their inventions 
are patentable. 

The ultimate fate of the inventor is largely dependent 
upon the skill and integrity of his patent attorney. Hav^ 
ing undertaken to inform the tyros on successful invent- 
ing and patenting, I felt that it was my solemn duty to 
inform them on the business practices in vogue among 
patent attorneys. And thus, after some talk on the free- 
search and contingency-fee schemes as practiced by some 
of the large patent-shoving companies and individuals 

(which is deemed inadvisable to publish in this volume), 

I told the tyros : 

'Tn general, two widely different business methods are 
practiced by patent attorneys. One class of patent at- 
torneys charge, in ordinary cases, $5 for the search and 
examination of anticipatory references, and the othei 
make no charge whatever. The attorneys in the latter 
class, after the free-search-seeking inventor had sub- 
mitted the model or sketch of his invention, require him 
to deposit $10 or $20 in evidence of good faith that when 
they will report the invention 'patentable' the inventor 
will remit the balance of the cost of the application and 
order the application prepared and filed. To inspire 
confidence in the report and thus make the inventor file 
an application without knowing what patents there stand 
on record against his invention, most of the free-search 
attorneys promise to return the fee for preparing the 
application if no patent [a patent of some sort] is allowed. 



WORTHLESS PATENTS 151 

**If the entire invention happens to be anticipated by 
prior patents and but a shade of novelty is left, however 
insignificant and valueless that residue may be, it is the 
business policy of most of the contingency-fee attorneys 
to draw one or more specific claims in effective combina- 
tion with the v/orthless shade of novelty and thus pro- 
cure the allowance of a patent. A patent with such 
claims is, in effect, a mere shadow of a patent [a fool 
patent, some inventors call it], and therefore without 
intrinsic commercial value. But it is a patent neverthe- 
less — printed on parchment paper and sealed with the 
great seal of the United States Patent Office — and en- 
titles the attorney to his fees. 

"The loss of the $65, the cost of the guaranteed or 
promised patent, is not the worse punishment the victim 
of the contingency-fee plan incurs. A train of useless 
expenses and loss of much valuable time usually follow 
in the wake of such patents. Knowing nothing of the 
existence of prior patents, the free-preliminary-examina- 
tion and contingency-fee victim thinks he has a patent 
that secures to him the exclusive right to his inven- 
tion, and in consequence he spares neither time nor 
money in building a machine or device which, not being 
his invention, will have to be consigned to the junk pile. 
Next he pays out two or three fees to those I-SELL- 
PATENTS men who thrive upon such victims in the 
hope of retrieving some of the money he invested in the 
patent and model. And last he spends some money in 
advertising the patent. This is the fate of tens of thous- 
ands of penny-wise-and-pound-foolish inventors — 2 loss 
of several hundred dollars in time and money and most 
lacerating tantalization, all for $5. 

**The attorneys in the former class charge a iee of 
$5 for a preliminary examination of a simple invention. 
For the fee of $5 the attorney searches the records in the 



152 FEW INVENTIONS NOT ANTICIPATED. 

class to which the invention appertains and submits to 
the inventor one or more copies of patents that most 
nearly anticipate parts or principles of his invention for 
his inspection and study, and points out the novelty in 
his invention in view of the state of the art. An inven- 
tion that is not anticipated by one or more patents is at 
the present stage of our industrial progress practically 
impossible. And thus one or more references always 
accompany the attorney's report. With the copies of 
patents before him, the inventor can readily see whether 
the parts or principles of his invention that are not 
anticipated by the machines shown and described in the 
prior patents will make the machine of his invention 
sufficiently superior to, and appreciably patentable over, 
those covered by the prior patents to justify the invest- 
ment of the cost of a good patent. If he finds that what 
is left of the invention is not enough to justify the invest- 
ment of the cost of the patent, he drops the idea and is 
only out $5. More frequently, however, it happens that 
with the knowledge of what has already been accom- 
plished in the line of his invention, as disclosed by the 
references before him, the inventor is able to recast his 
scheme and improve his inveniton to such an extent that 
the niachines shown in the prior patents become wholly 
insignificant as possible competitors and their patents 
are no longer a bar to a good patent. 

"Tne improvements in his invention the references 
facilit|ate are often worth to the inventor many times the 
cost (j>f the preliminary examination. At any rate, by 
merelk^ paying for the preliminary examination the in- 
ventop is in full control of the situation and sees what he 
is doipg, and by saving the cost of the search he will- 
fully jillows himself to be blindfolded and hoodwinked." 

Frotn his mien and apparent apathy it was perfectly 
obviotjs that Joseph paid no attention whatever to the 



A COGENT HYPOTHESIS. 153 

subject we discussed. He seemed to be very impatient, 
obviously thinking he was losing valuable time, and prob- 
ably regretting that he did not place his case in the hands 

of F & Co., and so I addressed him with particular 

stress to arouse him from his lethargy : 

*'Now, Joseph, suppose, for example, that this me- 
chanism of yours has already been patented by some 

other inventor, and Messrs. F & Co., get you a patent 

on this cam-check feature of your clutch mechanism. How 
much do you think you could get for the patent ?" 

"I don't know,'' he answered sheepishly. "But I think 
I will substitute a bell-crank lever for the cam, which will 
be much cheaper to make and more responsive in its 
action," he added with a nervous tremor. His mind 
was obviously dwelling on his invention, and the mere 
mention of that flagrantly useless feature suggested the 
need of a change in its construction. 

"He did not quite understand you," remarked his sister 
apologetically. "But the fact that he can substitute some 
other element therefor shows that the patent on the cam- 
check feature alone would not be worth much, if any- 
thing." Touching his shoulder she inquired: * Would 
you pay $65 for a patent on this cam alone?" 

"I guess, not," he answered protractedly in emphasis. 
"I wouldn't pay $5 for a patent on this thing alone, be- 
cause it isn't really necessary. A pin or a collar on the 
countershaft would check the movement of the clutch 
sleeve just as effectively as the cam or bell crank lever. 
I think I'll just put a plain collar with a flange on the 
countershaft instead of the cam or a bell-crank check." 

"Now, you see, Joseph," rejoined his sister, somewhat 
embarrassed by her minion brother's apparent unintelli- 

gence, "if you had taken your case to F & Co., or 

to any of the free-preliminary-examination attorneys that 
do not furnish the inventor with the references on record 



154 A PATENT AS BROAD AS THE INVENTION. 

and truthfully point out what is new in view of the state 
of the art, and if all the clutch mechanism happened 
to be anticipated by prior patents, except the unnecessary 
cam-check feature, which in view of its impracticability 
and unessentiality is most likely to be free from anticipa- 
tion, you would have unknowingly paid $65 for a patent 
on that useless cam-check alone." Joseph was shocked. 
He could hardly believe it and stared at her in bewilder- 
ment. 

"Do you mean to say that Messrs. F & Co. would . 

have given me a patent on the cam-check and told me 
that it was a patent on the clutch mechanism?" 

"They would have given you a patent on the cam-check, 
and as you did not care to know how much of your in- 
vention is patentable, there would have been no occa- 
sion of their telling you anything," 

"But suppose I had asked Messrs, F & Co. or 

Messrs. D & Co. how much of my invention is 

patentable, wouldn't they have had to tell me the truth?" 
The tyros looked at me for an answer, 

"They would probably have answered you : 'We have 
procured for you a patent as broad as your invention,' 
and that would have been the truth. No one can ask for 
a patent broader than his invention. The fact that you 
did not know that the cam-check feature was all the 
invention you had, would not entitle you to any considera- 
tion. They agreed to give you a patent and they gave you 
a patent ; on the cam check, it is true, but that was all the 
invention you had. As to a legal right the inventor has 
absolutely none. Whether he understood what he had 
read in the little Hand Book on Patents or Inventor's 
Guide or not, matters little. The hand or guide book sets 
forth the conditions and the money the inventor deposits in 
evidence of good faith is a perfectly legal acceptance of 
those conditions. The Federal laws impose a duty upon 



THE THOROUGH EXAMINATION. 155 

every citizen to exercise due discretion in dealing with his 
fellow men — Caveat Emptor — and therefore the govern- 
ment refuses to aid any person wlp in his attempt to get 
something for nothing gets nothing for his money. 

"The folly of filing an application for a patent without 
knowing what there is on record is too obvious to re- 
quire exposition. . It is my duty to guard you against 
taking any step that is prejudicial to your interests. I 
therefore enjoin you most emphatically never to order 
an application filed without having the references or, 
when there are many of them, the closest references on 
record before you. Competent patent attorneys demand 
adequate compensation for their services, and a fee of 
$5 for a studious search of the patent records and a clear- 
headed, non-biased opinion as to what is and what is not 
patentable in your invention in vievv^ of the state of the 
art, is little enough. Pay the $5 and have a thorough 
examination made, and made by none other than a 
thoroughly competent, practical patent attorney. A pre- 
liminary examination is not a validitv search, and the 
most competent patent attorney in the United States can- 
not make the examination so thorough as to be sure 
that no anticipatory patent has been overlooked. But 
there is a marked difference in the work of one patent 
attorney and another in the breadth of searching and 
care in examining references not only in point of earnest- 
ness, but in the degree of ability. A thorough pre- 
liminary examination made by a competent patent attor- 
ney is worth all you pay for it, and more, too. Save on 
everything else but on the preliminary examination and 
on the cost of the patent. If your invention is a public 
need or want, finanical success depends entirely upon the 
strength of the patent, and an attempt to save a few 
dollars on the making of the patent is almost sure to 
culminate in disaster. 



156 A DIFFERENCE IN PURPOSE. 

"Common sense is said to be an uncommon thing; 
obviously because so few evoke its valuable assistance. 
If an attorney claims that in the hope of getting the job 
of preparing the application he is willing to make a 
thorough preliminary search without charge, common 
sense would show that the very animus is prejudicial to 
your interests. The searcher who gets paid for his labor 
searches to find out what is not patentable in view of 
the state of the art, while he who does not get paid usually 
searches only to find out whether there is anything in 
the invention under examination that is patentable in 
view of the state of the art, in order to get the job 
of making some kind of a patent. Do you understand 
me, Joseph?" 

"Yes, I do. Go ahead and make an examination. I 
know there is nothing like it in the Patent Office. No- 
body could have thought of such a clutch mechanism. 
But I am willing to pay $5 for a thorough examination." 



"Some there be that shadows kiss; 
Some have but a snadow's bliss." 

— Shakespeare. 

LESSON XVIII. 
Fool Patents. 

The next evening Joseph and my nephew entered my 
office breathlessly, as if they were racing, both anxious 
to learn the results of the preliminary examination. I 
showed my young client three copies of patents each of 
which anticipated a certain part of his clutch mechanism 
and told him that in view of the patents on record the 
main principle of the sure-grip-and-quick-release feature 
of the clutch is broadly new and, of course, patentable. 
The lad was elated beyond expression, and repeated : 
"I knew there was nothing like it in the Patent Office," 
a dozen times. 

My nephew looked at the copies of clutch patents and 
suggested to Joseph a change in the construction of one 
of the anticipated features. Joseph re-examined the 
three references and in ten minutes' time changed all 
the three anticipated parts to considerable advantage, and 
cleverly avoided all the three anticipations. 

After the keen edge of his ebullient elation wore off, 
Joseph said: "I want my application filed tomorrow and 
the patent pulled through so soon as possible.." After 
a few moments cogitation on the importance of the theme 
suggested by his nervous haste, I called the tyros to 
order and told them : 

" *It is a good thing to learn caution by the misfortunes 
of others,' said a certain sage. Tens of thousands of in- 



158 HASTE A GRAVE MISTAKE. 

ventors are hugging shadows of patents. If you aspire 
to win fortune by inventing, you must first of all avoid 
the mistakes that are resonsible for the existence of 
such patents. I have told you how some of the fool 
patents happen. I will now tell you how most of the 
remaining happen. 

"Improvident and uninformed inventors make many 
mistakes. One of the gravest mistakes they make is 
haste. Undue haste is responsible for many failures. 
Almost every one of those inventors urges his attorney 
to hurry up and get the patent through so soon as 
possible. The latter [if he is one of the patent-shov- 
ing kind] to please his client, draws the claims so as to 
avoid official criticism and citation of references, and by 
this means he gets the application allowed at the first 
or second action. 

"Now suppose you hired a surveyor to survey a tract 
of land you had bought and urged him to hurry up and 
finish the job in a day or two in order to give you the 
deed so soon as possible, and he, to please you, hastily 
surveyed whatever open land there was, some of which 
happened to belong to your neighbor, and gave you a 
deed for all the open land he had surveyed. All the 
valuable wooded land, which would have taken time 
to cut a path through in order to survey it properly, 
would thus be entirely lost to you and all that open land 
which belongs to your neighbor would have to be re- 
turned, and what you would have left would be perhaps 
only a small fraction of the land you were entitled to 
and thus hardly worth while going to the expense of im- 
proving it. In effect the entire tract of land would be 
lost to you. In deeds to real estate such blunders may 
be remediable, but in patents whatever is not claimed is 
lost to the inventor absolutely and can never be recovered. 
In deeds to real estate such a blunder is not likely to hap- 



COURTS PROTECT PATENTS. 159 

pen even once in a thousand years ; in patents such blun- 
ders happen perhaps more than a thousand times every 
year. Indeed such blunders are so much in evidence that 
one is justified to believe that they must be happening 
perhaps ten thousand times a year. 

"All the courts strive to hold up every patent at bar. 
The judges well know the frailty of the human mind 
and its liability to err and make all the allowances they 
possibly can. But they also well know the law, and the 
upholding the law is their sworn duty. And so patent 
after patent is being impeached and invalidated because, 
many of the decisions read to the effect, while it is true 
the inventor had a generic invention and could have 
claimed it broadly, it is a settled principle of law, enacted 
by statute and announced by the courts, that a patentee 
and his assignee have no right to the exclusive use of 
anything patented which the inventor [his attorney, of 
course] has not distinctly claimed in his application for 
the patent. Or, as the judges in a certain Circuit-Court- 
of- Appeals case have said : 'A person who discovers a new 
and useful invention does not obtain a monopoly under 
the patent laws unless he claims his invention in his 
patent. Even if he described his invention in the spe- 
cification, and then claims as his invention something he 
has not invented, his patent is good for nothing/ All the 
hurriedly-made patents are good-for-nothing patents. 

"One inventor, a personal friend of mine, was col- 
lecting royalties at the rate of $100 a day for nearly two 
years. A competitor of his firm discovered the weak- 
ness of the claims in his patent. I do not know the pre- 
cise facts in the case, but I think his patent was one of 
those hurriedly made patents. The patent was impeached 
and declared null and void, because his attorney failed to 
claim the invention. My friend spent all the money he 
had made out of that invention in the hope of restoring 



160 PRACTICAL INVENTORS NOT HASTY. 

the validity of his patent, but the patent was repeatedly 
defeated and fell entirely. This is only one of thousands 
of similar cases. 

*'If that friend of mine, the dethroned successful in- 
ventor, or any impecunious inventor for that matter, 
were permitted to go into a vacated Government Mint 
Works and sweep together all the gold dust he could 
gather in seventeen weeks' time, you may rest assured 
that he would not lose one moment's time of those pre- 
cious seventeen weeks. He would come prepared with 
all kinds of scrapers and sweepers and industriously work 
away with all his might, scraping off all the dried on 
dirt and sputum, and after cleaning out all the crevices 
he would probably erect shaky scaffolds and climb at 
the peril of his life or limb to sweep off all the spider 
webs from the walls and ceilings in the hope that some 
gold dust may be imbedded in the webs. Imagine how 
happy he would feel if the value of the gold dust he 
had thus painfully gathered during those seventeen weeks 
time amounted to $537 ! And this same industrious man 
has, through his false sense of economy, lost an oppor- 
tunity to gather about $527,000 in seventeen years' time 
with no more effort than the landlord has in collecting his 
rents. 

''The practical inventor is not hasty. He instructs his 
attorney to take all the time it may be needed to make 
the patent cover every feature and function of the in- 
vention. The preparation and prosecution of an applica- 
tion for a real practical, commercially-acceptable patent is 
a onerous task. When little or nothing is claimed, as 
in the case of the hurriedly made patents, the few specific 
claims presented, if in proper form and free from techni- 
cal objections, are at once allowed. The examiner has 
nothing to do and is glad to dispose of the case with 
little or no labor. But when much is claimed, as a good 



REAL PATENTS REQUIRE TIME. 161 

attorney always does, the examiner cites a number of 
references, some of which are wholly without pertinence 
and others have but little bearing on the case, and rejects 
most or all of the claims presented. To sift out all that 
is new in view of that mass of references in order to 
make the patent as broad as the invention cannot be done 
properly in one time, however skillful the attorney may 
be. It may take two or three revisions of the case, and 
after considerable study and labor suggest a new line of 
prosecution. And then some examiners are very slow and 
reserved in their deliberations, and it requires a lot of 
argumentation to convince them. In short, to make a 
real patent takes skill, time, and labor; to make a fool 
patent any botch of a patent attorney or a patent lawyer 
can do, and in a hurry, too. 

''If you invent something that seemis promising, have 
it patented right or not at all. The difference between 
the cost of a hastily m.ade patent and the cost of a stu- 
diously made patent is, in simple cases, only $5. But the 
difference in the quality between the two patents is often 
all there is between something and nothing. A habit of 
thriftiness is highly commendable. But where is the sense 
in saving $5 and losing $65 and all the hope of ever rea- 
lizing on that invention ?" 

"Very well, then. Take your time and make the pat- 
ent as good as you can. My next problem is, what am 
I going to do with my patent? I suppose I will have 
to wait until the patent is allowed and then advertise it 
for sale or put it in the hands of some reliable patent 
seller." 

"We will discuss this subject some other time." 



11 



"Viligance in watching opportunity, tact and 
daring in seizing upon opportunity, force and 
persistence in crowding opportunity to its ut- 
most of possible achievements — these are the 
material virtues which must command suc- 
cess." — A. Phelps. 



LESSON XIX. 
How to Make Money Out of Patent Rig 

Two weeks later my nephew came up with a roll of 
drawings under his arm, and after some conversation 
with his sweetheart both came over to me and took seats 
at my desk. After a few minutes social chat, my nephew, 
in a delightfully cheerful mood, informed me : 

"I have invented a mechanical motor which bids fair 
to revolutionize rowing. I have been working on this 
invention for six long nights in succession, and believe 
my mechanism is now simplified and elaborated to the 
highest degree possible." 

"How did you happen to invent a mechanical motor?" 
I asked him. One can often tell of the possibilities of a 
new creation by knowing the motives that prom.pted its 
invention. 

"Why, Lillian [Miss Sharp] is responsible for the in- 
vention of this motor. We were down the river on Sun- 
day before last. I was rowing her in a boat and she asked 
me: *Do you know what kind of levers you are using?' 
I looked at the oars and saw that I was using a very 
foolish kind of levers. In using oars the power is ap- 
plied to the shorter ends, with the result of a decrement 
instead of an increment in power. No wonder one tires 



IMPORTANCE OF PERSISTENT RUMINATION. 163 

so quickly. When we returned home both of us made 
drastic attempts to reverse the leverage of the oars by 
means of gears, knee joints, toggle- jointed links, etc., 
but every attempt proved abortive. Lillian abandoned the 
project entirely, concluding that our object was unattaina- 
ble, but I could not throw it off my mind. And so after 
two days rumination I have invented a mechanical motor 
that will dispense with the oars entirely." 

''But where is the advantage of having a mechanical 
motor when one can equip a rowboat with a gasolene 
engine ?" 

"Rowing is indulged in for two purposes: First, for 
the outdoor exercise of the muscles in the arms and in 




the upper part of the body rowing affords; and, second, 
for the pleasure of gliding on the water. The power- 
driven boat deprives the users of the benefit of the exer- 



164 THE EVER-PERPLEXING QUESTION. 

cise afforded by working the oars, and the oar-driven boat 
deprives the users of the pleasure of gliding swiftly along 
the stream and covering a longer distance. My mechani- 
cal motor accomplishes the good features of both the oar 
and the power driven boats. Furthermore, it is simpler 
in construction and much cheaper to manufacture. It 
occupies less room in the boat and is always ready for 
use. It is provided with means for reversing the move- 
ment of the propellor shaft without stopping the move- 
ment of the two fly wheels, and the mechanism is encased 
impervious to the ingress of water. Look at this sketch, 
showing its exterior (see page 163). 

'Xillian, too, is working on a basting attachment to a 
sewing machine which seems quite practical, but she is 
not quite through with it. Well, we are strongly deter- 
mined to make our fortune by inventing and will peg 
away until we will get there. We have learned all about 
the inventing and the importance of the patent. We will 
bend all our energies to see that our inventions stand 
on all the four legs, and on as sound legs as it will be 
in our power to make them. You will of course make 
the patent on this invention as good as it can be made. 
But what are we going to do with the patents after we 
get them? Can you give us the names and addresses 
of some reliable patent brokers, or would it be better 
for us to advertise the patents for sale; and if so,, can 
you give us some idea as to how we should advertise 
them? Please, uncle, tell us all we ought to know about 
the business end of the patent. With a fair knowledge 
of the business end of the patent, I believe we will be in 
a position to take good care of ourselves without troubling 
you further, except on business." 

I was delighted to hear that they have formed such 
determination, and exceedingly glad that I have been 



DETERMINATION THE PIVOTAL POINT. 165 

instrumental in awakening their ambition and put them 
in a position to materiahze it. After commending and 
praising their course, and enjoining them not to swerve 
therefrom under any circumstances, I said : "With the 
knowledge of the requirements of a commercially valua- 
ble invention you now have, if your determination to 
make your fortune by inventing is invincible, your fortune 
is as good as made. The most essential part in the 
endeavor to attain financial success by inventing, is to 
keep the objective point — financial success — always in 
view. The shoemaker knows that in order to command 
$10 for a pair of shoes he must first procure first-class 
leather, next, make the shoes fit perfectly, and finally, 
finish and polish them up so that the customer can see 
at a glance that enough pains have been taken with them 
to be worth the price. Many inventors lose sight of 
the objective point, and others miss one or more steps 
leading thereto." 

"It is not always possible to make a fortune out of a 
single invention. But with your eyes open for oppor- 
tunity to create something that the people need or want, 
inventions will come in frequent succession. 

"Force and persistence in crowding opportunity to its 
utmost of possible achievement is one of the most impor- 
tant steps leading to the objective point — financial suc- 
cess by inventing. You have designed your mechanical 
motor with especial regard to, its application to a row- 
boat, and therefore you have the motive shaft disposed 
horizontally and close to the bottom. But by a mere 
change this motor can be adapted to a great many differ- 
ent uses — and that means multiplying its financial possi- 
bilities — where transient power within its capacity 
is needed. Of course, I will draw the specifications and 
claims so as to cover all the uses of which its principles 
are capable, and tlie different uses therefor will suggest 



166 DISPOSITION A PERPLEXING PROBLEM. 

themselves to you later. I am only telling you that your 
motor is capable of far greater financial possibilities than 
you had dreamed of, and that the inventor should bear 
in mind that almost every invention is capable of other 
uses and not allow his attorney to limit it to the particular 
use to which he adapted it. 

"As to what you should do with this particular inven- 
tion will depend largely on the kind of patent I will be 
able to get thereon. But to finish the course of instruc- 
tions I have undertaken to give you, I will give you a few 
general and specific instructions and advice which will 
furnish you a guide in all your future cases. 

"The profitable disposition of the property right yested 
in the patent is a most perplexing problem, but not more 
so than the profitable disposition of the property right 
vested in the deed to realty. If you had a deed to a 5 by 
5 feet lot, situated in some out of the way suburb, you 
know very well that no real estate agent on earth could 
sell it for you, and that no amount of advertising would 
sell it for you. But if you had a 50 by 100 feet lot in the 
center of the city, you know very well that all you would 
have to do is to find the right party who wants that 
particular lot and is willing to pay for it what you think 
it is worth. 

"There are countless patents held by inventors which 
cover no more valuable property right than the 5 by 5 
foot lot of our example. Metaphorically speaking, the 
claims in those patents read something like this : *In a 
steam engine, which comprises a steam cylinder, a piston, 
a crank shaft, a connecting rod, and a fly wheel; I pro- 
vide a hook for the engineer to hang his dinner pail on.' 
The inventor actually invented the entire engine illus- 
trated by the drawings in his patent, and he stuck in that 
hook merely as a slight convenience which may or may 
not be used. But the engine was entirely anticipated by 



BOGUS PATENT SELLERS. 167 

prior patents and all there was new in view of the state 
of the art is that hook — a worthless trifle. The inventor 
saved the $5 fee charged by other attorneys for the pre- 
liminary examination and in consequence does not know 
that his engine [or whatever the invention similarly 
claimed is] is anticipated by prior patents and still thinks 
he has a patent on the steam engine shown and described 
in his patent. 

"Such patents as these called into existence a number 
of I-SELL-PATENTS men who thrive upon such 
victims. These patent sellers know very well that such 
patents are unsalable. But they also know very well that 
every one of these patentees is mighty anxious to sell 
his patent and that some innocent looking- sophistical 
literature, supplemented by a circular letter containing 
one or two plausible arguments, and followed up by a 
circular letter and a book full of testimonials from satis- 
fied clients will make the improvident patentee squeeze 
out one or two ten-dollar bills from his already depleted 
exchequer. 

"If there are any honest, able, and earnest patent 
salesmen, either in this country or in any o:her country, 
I was never fortunate enough to learn of their where- 
abouts. There are reliable business men who often act 
as promoters, but they will not touch a paterit proposition 
of limited financial possibilities. In the absence of a 
reliable factor, the burden of the business end of the 
patent rests entirely upon the inventor's shoulders and 
he himself must learn all he can of the causes of failure 
of his unfortunate contemporaries in order to know how 
to avoid them. 

"A fairly promising invention covered by a well made 
patent can readily be converted into cash or into a royalty 
income, and it does not take a professional patent sales- 
man or a shrewd financier to do it. Any person of or- 



168 AN INVENTOR'S MISTAKE. 

dinary intelligence can do it. If you have an undesira- 
ble invention or a desirable invention and no adequate 
patent to claim ownership with, no salesman on earth can 
dispose of it legitimately. 

''Many inventors overestimate the value of their in- 
ventions, and as a result some of them have refused re- 
sonable offers for their patent rights which they have 
never been able to duplicate, and the patents may remain 
unsold until they expire. Other inventors have named 
for their patents such monstrous figures that they could 
not be consic^ered at all and thus lost their most brilliant, 
in many instknces their only, opportunities to cash their 
inventions. 

"As an example of the lofty notions of the young in- 
ventor, an inventor filed an application for a patent on a 
certain articlb without having a preliminary examina- 
tion made, tte was sure nobody could have thought of 
such a schema and refused to pay the fee for a preliminary 
examination, i Later he asked m.e to give him some idea 
as to what I [thought his invention is worth and where 
he could disjjose of his patent right after the patent is 
issued. A reference was cited against the case and I 
had discovered in a trade journal that the article shown 
in the refer^ce is being manufactured and marketed 
by the paten/ee. The nature of the thing showed very 
plainly that if there is a demand for any such an article 
at all it must necessarily be very limited. My client's 
drawings shDwed that his invention contained certain 
patentable fefitures over the reference and possessed con- 
siderable ad-vlantage over the construction shown in the 
reference, fiut the latter being the only and recent pat- 
ent, the clair)is in that patent would prevent my client 
from manufacturing his improved article and no sane 
business man would buy such a patent. 



■ LOST OPPORTUNITY. 169 

*'I could not of course give my client the slightest idea 
as to how much his invention is worth. But with the 
copy of the reference on record I sent him, I wrote to 
the effect that as this is a recent patent he will have to 
sell his invention to the prior patentee, and that in view 
of this fact he cannot expect much for it. I told my 
client that he need not wait until the patent is issued and 
advised him to submit to the patentee the blueprint of 
the official drawings I sent him and find out how much 
that party is willing to pay for the improvement. 

"Two weeks later I received a letter from my client 
stating that that foolish patentee flatly refused to con- 
sider his very liberal offer of accepting $10,000 cash for 
his invention, and asked whether I do not happen to 
know of some other party who would buy it for that 
reasonable figure. Had he asked $400 or $500, which, 
in view of the anticipation, is all the thing was worth, 
the patentee might have bought it either because it con- 
tained some marked improvement or to avoid fighting 
an infringer. 

"The inventor must consider the standing of the party 
he is negotiating with and never for a moment forget the 
extent of the monopoly and the financial possibilities of 
the invention he is offering to his correspondent. If that 
client of mine possessed some business tact he would 
have known that a patentee starting out to manufacture 
an article of his own invention for which the demand 
is yet to be made, and an article for which the demand 
will never be great, is not likely to have $10,000 to in- 
vest in an improvement thereon. But in order to en- 
hance the quality of that article, and through this perhaps 
increase the demand therefor, he might be willing to 
do some things within reason. If the transaction had 
been properly handled, that patentee could probably have 
been made to pay $200 or $300 cash and a small royalty 



170 ADVERTISING PATENT, A BLUNDER. 

upon every article he would make during the life of the 
new patent. If the article should happen to come into 
more extensive use, as the inventor expected it will, that 
small royalty might have amounted to a great deal, per- 
haps come up to the $10,000 mark, and perhaps to more 
than $10,000. No one can foretell the extent of the 
demand for a new article, even though there is none at 
the present. 

"Patent soliciting companies who publish, or are in- 
terested in the publication of, magazines, insist that the 
only way to dispose of a patent profitably is to adver- 
tise it in their publications. The greatest blunder an 
inventor can make is to advertise his patent for sale in 
any publication, and the larger the display of the ad 
and greater the circulation of the publication the greater 
are the chances of never selling that patent. It is true 
that once in a long while one does sell a patent by means 
of advertising; and a worthless patent, too. But cases of 
such sales are so rare nowadays that they deserve no notice. 
Improvident inventors are legion, improvident patent 
buyers are very scarce nowadays. They learned to know 
better. 

"The greater number of the inventions patented are 
simple improvements on things already in use ranging 
in value from several hundred to several thousand 
dollars. The best time to dispose of such improvements 
is before the patent goes to issue. But before proceeding 
with the disposition ascertain from the patent attorney 
handling your case what the chances are for getting 
tolerably broad claims in order to know how much to 
ask for your invention. Don't insist upon a positive as- 
surance for he cannot give it to you for any price. 

"The law requires the examiner to cite the best ref- 
erences with his first action on the merits of the case. 



THE MANUFACTURER'S ATTITUDE. 171 

But it oftens happens that he does not discover a fatal 
reference until the next action. It is therefore better to 
wait until the case has been acted on twice. If after the 
second official action the attorney's opinion is favorable, 
the inventor may proceed with the business end of his 
invention without waiting for the issue of the patent. 
The possibility of interference or further references are 
remote and therefore need not be considered. 

"Com.petition is very active in every line of industry, 
and the manufacturer who buys a patent does so either 
to improve the quality of his product by incorporating 
certain features of the improvement it enunciates, and 
thereby be in a position to defy competition by means of 
superior quality or to prevent the patent from falling into 
the hands of his competitors and thus keep out keener 
competition. 

"Every manufacturer thinks his product is as good as 
it can be made and has a lively disdain for improvements 
made by anyone but his own factory experts. Experience 
shows that outsiders make the best improvements, and 
the manufacturer knows it. Still, it seems very hard 
for a manufacturer to bring himself to take seriously an 
announced improvement upon his product by an outsider. 
His natural tendency seems to be to shut his eyes and 
stop up his ears so that he won't see nor hear of any- 
thing better than his own product. 

''This may seem strange to you, but put yourself in his 
position and you will readily see how natural it is for 
a manufacturer to make himself believe that nothing 
better than his own product is possible. Suppose you 
were, say, a cyclometer manufacturer and have spent a 
year's time and $10,000 on perfecting your cyclometei' 
and making the tools, dies, and jigs for its manufacture. 
Of course you were convinced that you have the best 
cyclometer in the world before you went to this expense 



172 HOW TO INTEREST MANUFACTURERS. 

of time and money. If a few years later you saw a 
patent on a cyclometer advertised which the inventor 
claims is a great improvement over the old style. Now 
an appreciably improved cyclometer must necessarily be a 
reorganized cyclometer, and a reorganized cyclometer 
means a brand new cyclometer, and a brand new cyclo- 
meter means throw away the tools, dies, and jigs of the 
old cyclometer and spend another year's time and $10,000 
cash to make new ones. Wouldn't it be natural for you to 
say, 'Oh, nonsense ! That inventor dream.s he has a 
better cyclometer than m.ine. What does he know about 
cyclometers?' and ignore it entirely. 

"Still, manufacturers do buy patents ; as I said before, 
either to incorporate certain features of the improvement 
or to suppress the improvement. But my experience has 
taught me that the only way to tempt a manufacturer 
to invest in a patent is to make him believe that he is the 
first and only human being who has ever seen or heard 
anything about the new improvement. It is obvious that 
advertising the patent in any publication will not accom- 
plish this. Whether you had a reply to your advertise- 
ment or not, the manufacturer will take it for granted 
that as the patent is advertised every Tom, Dick, and 
Harry knows about your invention and will not give it a 
single thought. But you send the manufacturer a blue- 
print of -your official drawings accompanied by a plain 
business letter, in which you point out the novel features 
of your invention and briefly mention the advantages of 
your improvement and you have him very much in- 
terested. Your personal letter is a business communica- 
tion and the manufacturer cannot help reading it, and he 
cannot help looking at the blue-prints. If the invention 
is really interesting to him he cannot help being interested 
in your presentation and take your proposition under con- 
sideration. If you should send a blue-print and a per- 



DISCLOSURE TO MANUFACTURERS. 173 

sonal letter [not a printed circular] to each of a hundred 
of manufacturers of the article you improved upon, 
every one of the hundred of manufacturers would think 
that he is the first and only one in his line of manufacture 
who knows the secret that an improvement of the kind 
shown in your blue-print is being patented." 

''But as the patent is not yet issued what will prevent 
the recipient of the blue-print from making some im- 
provement on my improvement and apply for a patent?" 

''Nothing can prevent him from making an improve- 
ment on your improvement and applying for a patent 
thereon either before or after your patent is issued. But 
if your blue-print should suggest some improvement to 
him, so much the better. Because any improvem.ent on 
5^our improvement, unless it happens to be a broad de- 
parture from your principles, would make him tributary 
to you and therefore more anxious to obtain control of 
your invention while he has it under consideration and 
thus in his power to acquire it." 

"How about an interference? Wouldn't my corre- 
spondent be likely to file an application for a patent on the 
device of my invention and fraudulently prove priority 
rather than to pay me the price I may ask for it?" 

"Bosh, nothing of the kind has ever happened nor 
likely to happen. Don't be apprehensive on this score. 
The young inventor is shy and distrustful. I do not deny 
the fact that fraudulent interferences do happen, but 
only once in a very great while, and when they do hap- 
pen they are generally due to some peculiar circumstance 
in which there is some honest reason for the interferer 
to believe himself to be the prior inventor. As a rule 
all of the interference cases are honest contests. It would 
take a m.ost depraved reprobate of a manufacturer to 
abuse the trust and confidence reposed in him by an in- 
ventor, and such rascals do not exist among responsible 



174 BE BRIEF AND MODEST. 

manufacturers. Never give this possibility a single 
thought. Furthermore, nothing can prevent one from 
putting you in an interference after the patent is issued. 
In either case the onus probandi, or the burden of proving 
priority, would rest upon your opponent and in almost 
every instance the fraudulent opponent fails to prove 
priority. Perjured witnesses will betray themselves 
under skillful cross examination, and the Examiner of In- 
terferences with his staff have had enough experience to 
descry false testimony. 

"Have no fear of any evil consequences resulting from 
your submitting a blue-print of your invention to a re- 
sponsible manufacturer before the patent is issued. It is 
perfectly safe, and my experience taught me that this is 
the only practical, way to interest a manufacturer and 
close a deal. 

''As I said before, every manufacturer thinks his 
product is as good as it can be made, and some of the 
ever-busy will not even take the time to read a long 
letter describing an improvement on his product. Make 
your letter therefore as brief as possible. Above all 
things refrain from praising your invention or rakishly 
show the amount of money it is likely to yield. Still bet- 
ter, beyond briefly pointing out the construction and oper- 
ation or application of your invention say little or noth- 
ing of its advantages. There is nothing you can tell the 
manufacturer about the article he manufactures or your 
improvement thereon that he does not know. If an actual 
demonstration is deemed expedient and a model can be 
made at small expense, have a model made and send it 
with the blue-print if mailable, if not state in your letter 
that you have a model and will be glad to send it upon 
request. 

"Write your letter accompanying the blue-prints or 
model so as to make it appear that you do not know 



ELEGANCE IMPORTANT. 175 

yourself what a good thing you have in your invention. 
Excessive enthusiasm forces the manufacturer to take 
an opposite view, and if he happens to be irritated at the 
time he receives your missive he may throw your frenzied 
letter with the blue-print into the waste basket before 
he had examined your blue-print and was half through 
with the reading of the letter. 

''Refrain from practicing tricks on your correspondent. 
If you offer the patent for sale do not a-sk the manufac- 
turer whether he is in a position to manufacture your in- 
vention for you in order to make him believe that if he 
does not buy it he will have a powerful competitor to 
deal with. It will not make him believe that, but will 
make him disbelieve everything else your letter may state, 
and as a result throw your letter into the waste basket 
or answer that he is too busy with filling orders for his 
own product to consider your invention. 

"But not all improvements will interest the manufac- 
turers of the products improved upon. You must there- 
fore first settle the question as to whether or not your 
invention is of such a nature as to interest the manu- 
facturer before you submit the blue-print to him. Take, 
for example, the adjustable culinary utensil support as 
improved by you. This improvement is not likely to 
interest the gas or gasolene stove manufacturers, be- 
cause it cannot be incorporated in the stove without 
more or less impairing its appearance, and a manufac- 
turer will in no wise impair the external appearance of 
his product. The purchaser is first attracted by the ap- 
pearance of the article, and anything that encumbers its 
appearance will interfere with the much sought after first 
impression. Give your inventions all the elegance of ap- 
pearance you can. Many appreciable improvements fall 
short of this mark and in consequence fail to interest man- 
ufacturers. 



176 PLAN OF EXPLOITATION. 

''Miss Sharp's adjustable culinary utensil support, as 
improved by you, consists of a small piece of stove pipe 
which with the screw threads impressed and a neat little 
knob could be manufactured in large quantities for about 
three cents each and would readily sell at twenty-five 
cents each. Yet this invention would not interest stove 
pipe manufacturers, as such, because something must 
be done to the stove before the support can become avail- 
able for use, and this is beyond the sphere of their in- 
dustrial activity. The stove pipe manufacturers can make 
the supports but not fit them to the stoves. 

"The best plan for Miss Sharp [and inventors having 
inventions of similar nature] to adopt would thus be to 
have the adjustable culinary utensil supports manufac- 
tured and market them herself, with or without the as- 
sistance of a partner. The marketing can be effected 
either through house-to-house canvassers or through 
household good stores, introduced to the housekeepers 
by public demonstrations in store windows or inside dis- 
plays. House-to-house canvassers would themselves 
make the necessary shear cut and fit the adjustable uten- 
sil support to the stove, and the household goods dealers 
would have their delivery wagon drivers do it. In either 
case she would have to give about 50 per cent of the sale 
price of the support. But there is still 300 per cent 
profit on the investment, and if the sales were energeti- 
cally pushed through agents or canvassers the non-com- 
petitive enterprise could be made to yield a little fortune. 

"The tripot utensil support, again, could be sold through 
the regular channels of trade and therefore might interest 
a hardware specialty manufacturer. And while it might 
cost somewhat more to manufacture, the fact that its sale 
could be forced through the regular channels of trade 
might offset the additional cost. 



HOW MUCH TO ASK FOR A PATENT. 177 

**A thoroughly reorganized lock, such as the Yale lock, 
for instance, is a broad departure from the former styles 
of locks. Such a lock invention could command a royalty 
from a lock manufacturer. But a mere change in the 
shape of the latch and its keeper, such as the latch lock 
of your invention, for instance [or an invention of similar 
import], would have to be sold to a lock manufacturei 
outright. No lock manufacturer with an established 
trade for his latch locks would agree to pay a royalty on 
such an improvement. Before submitting the blue-print 
of an improvement of such character [or of any invention 
that has to be sold outright], find out about how many 
latch locks are manufactured annually in the United 
States. This can be accomplished by making inquiry 
of the trade journal publication — in the present instance 
through a friendly hardware dealer who is a subscriber 
to the lock trade journal. If your invention enhances the 
jobbing price of the lock about 5 cents, figure on the 
basis of one cent on each lock for the entire output of latch 
locks in one year and let this be the figure you will offer 
your patent right for. If the output is, say, 100,000 
latch locks a year, the most you can reasonably ask for 
your invention would be $1,000. It is true your patent is 
good for seventeen years and is worth $1,000 a year. 
But the lock manufacturer who wants to buy your patent 
does not manufacture all the 100,000 locks every year. 

''Every purchaser of a patent right is a pessimist. He 
thinks, and believes, and guesses, and dreams of possi- 
bilities the inventor could never conceive. Before one de- 
cides to buy a patent right he thinks it may not be a 
success, he believes that if the invention does become 
popular it will only be for a year or so ; he guesses that 
within a year or so someone will invent something better ; 
he dreams that he will have to fight infringers or will 
be sued for infringement by some other assignee, etc. In 

13 



178 RANGE OF ROYALTIES. 

short, the purchaser of a patent right sees reasons why 
he should not pay more than a small sum for the patent 
that the inventor could not see with the aid of the most 
powerful magnifying glass. And therefore, my dear 
children, never be tempted to ask a big price for a small 
improvement, because you simply won't get it. Your 
negotiant will answer you by return mail that he is not 
interested in your invention, or that he is too busy with 
other matters to take your offer under consideration, or 
he may become incensed and not answer at all. Ask 
a reasonable price from the beginning — never, of course, 
in the first letter nor in a subsequent letter; wait until 
you are asked to name a price — and save yourselves the 
mortification of losing a brilliant opportunity to sell your 
invention. 

"An invention such as the log-sawing machine of our 
example, can be placed on a royalty with some responsible 
saw-mill or woodworking-machinery manufacturer. Roy- 
alties, generally speaking, range from 5 per cent to 1254 
per cent of the sale price of the machine or article. A 
royalty of only 5 per cent on an extensively used article, 
such as the two-piece glove button, for instance, means 
an immense fortune for the inventor. A royalty of 5 
per jent on a thing of limited use would not be enough. 
As a general rule, figure out the approximate gross net 
profits and demand about one-fourth thereof, but for 
convenience of opportioning the one-fourth make it come 
out of the sale price of the article. On a machine such 
as the log-sawing machine of our example, as you have 
seen when we figured out its financial possibilities be- 
fore going to the trouble of inventing it, a royalty of 10 
per cent is all the inventor can reasonably ask. In short, 
bear in mind that whenever von ask more than the 
manufacturer can afford to pay you ruin your chances 
of closing a deal — less you are not likely to ask. 



EXPLOITATION OF AN INVENTION. 179 

"The inventor of an improved article, a smoking pipe, 
for instance, has but two ways of disposing of his inven- 
tion. He can sell his patent right to a pipe manufacturer 
outright or grant him an exclusive license for manufac- 
turing the patented pipe for a stipulated license fee, or 
royalty. He may, of course, be in a position to manufac- 
ture and market his improved pipe himself, with or with- 
out the aid of a partner. But if he is not in a position to 
make and market his improved article ' himself, he has 
but the aforementioned two ways open to him to dispose 
of his patent right. The inventor of an improved ma- 
chine for the manufacture of an article of extensive use, 
say smoking pipes, the improvement of which consists 
in being capable of producing an appreciably greater 
number of smoking pipes in a given period of time, say 
as much more as the best machine of its kind, has three 
more ways of adequately realizing on his acquired prop- 
erty right. 

"There are, say, fifty different styles of smoking pipes 
on the market. The improved pipe making machine as 
shown in the drawings of the patent covering the same 
is adapted to but one style of pipe. But a properly made 
patent secures to the inventor the exclusive right to 
adapt his machine to the manufacture of any and all the 
styles of pipes that are now in use or that may come into 
use any time during the life of the patent. It would 
therefore be the height of folly for an inventor, or 
patentee, possessed of such a patent right to grant a pipe 
manufacturer the exclusive right to make and use the 
patented machine for a stipulated license fee, or royalty, 
as he would thereby limit the usefulness of his machine 
to the single style of pipes manufacfured by his licensee. 

"An inventor possessed of such a machine and patent 
right could join forces with a machine manufacturer and 
manufacture pipe making machines for all the kinds and 



180 SHOP LICENSE PLAN. 

styles of pipes to which the principles of his invention 
can be adapted and either sell the machines to pipe man- 
ufacturers outright or lease them for a license fee of a 
stipulated sum of each gross of pipes made on the pat- 
ented machine. 

''Another plan for adequately realizing on such an 
invention is granting a shop license to each of the pipe 
manufacturers, authorizing him to make and use machines 
for the lines or styles of pipes he manufactures. These 
rights can either be sold outright or on a royalty. The 
shop-license plan is not always feasible. Whether or not 
it would be feasible in an invention of the nature of our 
present example, depends largely upon the construction 
of the machine and the cost of reproducing it in small 
lots. 

''Still another, and the most feasible, way for adequate- 
ly realizing on an invention of the nature of the pipe 
making machine of our example, is to organize a stock 
company to build machines and manufacture several of 
the most popular styles of pipes on the patented machine. 
The remaining lines or styles of pipes may be disposed 
of as indicated or, if deemed more feasible, as it is often 
the case, entirely suppressed by that company. 

"When the patent is sold outright the assignment will 
be prepared by the purchaser of the patent, and whether 
he employs an attorney to draw up the assignment or not 
the inventor has nothing to worry about. All he has 
to do is to see that he gets his money immediately after 
he affixed his signature to the assignment. But when a 
royalty contract is to be made the contract should be made 
by the inventor and drawn by his attorney. There are 
two important provisions to be inserted in a royalty 
contract which thoughtless inventors often omit and 
disastrous results inevitably follow. The first of these 
provisions is that the manufacturer must make and sell. 



EMPLOY AN ATTORNEY. 181 

or account for, not less than so many articles every year ; 
and the second is that if he fails to pay royalties as they 
fall due, or to account for the minimum number of arti- 
cles specified the inventor reserves the right to terminate 
the license granted to him by this contract and grant it 
to another manufacturer. 

''Every manufacturer will object to these two provi- 
sions. He will say that he is honest, progressive, and 
reliable and .that he will do his utmost to make and sell as 
great a number of your patented articles as possible, etc. 
But it will be like committing financial suicide for you 
to omit either of these two provisions. Never sign a 
royalty contract made out by the manufacturer or by his 
attorney nor copy one from a book, but employ a relia- 
ble attorney to draw up the contract or license, and if the 
manufacturer objects to the two provisions named, let 
the attorney argue it out with him. A clear-headed at- 
torney will bring him around alright, unless he lacks 
confidence in the invention or means to suppress it. In 
either case that manufacturer is not the right party to 
deal with. Drop him and look for another. 

"An invention that is to be sold outright should be 
first oflfered to the smaller manufacturers in its line. If 
it is something he wants and the price is within his reach 
the smaller manufacturer will pay a better price than the 
larger one. An invention that is to be placed on a 
royalty should be offered first to the largest manufacturer. 
The larger the manufacturer the harder it is to deal 
with him. But it is better to accept a royalty of 5 per 
cent from a manufacturer that has a factory capacity of 
five hundred articles a day than a royalty of 10 per 
cent from a manufacturer that has a factory capacity of 
only one hundred articles a day. But whether the manu- 
facturer is large or small, it would be the height of folly, 
indeed, sheer idiocy, to omit the aforementioned two pro- 
visions. 



182 SHUN FINANCIAL BROKERS. 

"li a, stock company is to be organized for the com- 
mercial development of your invention you must have 
everything ready before you start out in quest of the 
principal investors and directors. It is not possible to 
persuade capitalists to invest large sums of money and 
their valuable time to direct the affairs of the new com- 
pany unless you can show them that the chances of rea- 
lizing on their investments are much greater than the 
chances of losing a single dollar. Unless you are pre- 
pared to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt in five 
minutes' time, you are not in a position to do business. 
You will find scores of business brokers, financial brokers, 
and professional promoters who at a glance at your 
blue-print will assure you that the easiest way for you 
to make a large fortune from your invention is to form a 
corporation with yourself as president, your wife as vice- 
president and your son or daughter as secretary and sell 
stock. And for the mere privilege of selling your stock 
these schemers will offer to contribute one-half of the 
cost of the incorporation. But beyond relieving you of 
one or two hundred dollars nothing else will happen. 

"To be prepared to approach a capitalist you must 
have first a patent of proper stamina officially allowed; 
second, a working model of the patented machine, and 
third, a prospectus so skillfully written [typewritten, not 
printed] that a glance at the first page will excite' the 
capitalist's cupidity. The prospectus must show clearly, 
concisely, and truthfully, by means of facts and figures, 
the financial possibilities of your proposition. If the 
financial possibilities are sufficiently tempting, the capi- 
talist approached will associate with himself two or more 
able business men, an attorney, and one or two experts 
and proceed with the investigation of the patent and the 
working model. If satisfactory and the terms between 
you and them settled, the incorporation will begin and 



THE PROSPECTUS. 18? 

you will assign your patent to the new corporation for 
a block of the stock, stock and a bonus, or stock and a 
royalty as your lawyer or attorney may see fit to advise 
you and you to accept. 

''There may be certain exceptions, but as a rule a 
cogent prospectus is as essential as a good patent and a 
good working model. There are men in every large city 
who make it their business to prepare such prospectuses. 
They gather all the necessary data relative to consump- 
tion, cost to manufacture, etc., and show the capitalist by 
facts and figures in the prospectus how much money he 
can make out of your invention. 

"With the patent allowed, the working model finished, 
and the prospectus on hand, put two or three copies of the 
prospectus in your pocket, go to the nearest large city 
and visit a few of the largest real estate offices. Ask the 
real estate man to give you the name and address of a 
party who is seeking profitable investment for $35,000 or 
$50,000, according to the amount the starting of the manu- 
facture of your invention may require. Real estate men 
usually know of such parties, but they are not in the 
business to tell. Before the real estate man has a chance 
to say that he does not know hand him a copy of your 
prospectus and tell him something to this effect: 'This 
is a great opportunity for a man with capital and busi- 
ness ability to double or triple his investment every year 
during the life of my patent, and if you will take a few 
moments' time to read through this prospectus you may 
yourself become financially interested.' 

"Now, a real estate man will not invest his money in 
an industrial proposition, but this indirect invitation and 
the cursory reading of one or two pages ot the pros- 
pectus, if you look at him intently and expectantly, will 
usually prompt him to utter: *I think this proposition 
would interest Mr. Lewis.' If you should ask him who 



184 LOCATING CAPITALISTS. 

that Mr. Lewis is, what is his first name and address, 
what is his business, etc., he would most likely tell you 
that he does not know, because he breathed the name 
unconsciously or thoughtlessly, and that would end your 
interview with him. It is therefore better to ask him : 'I 
suppose you are intimately acquainted with Mr. Lewis 
and know he is capable of handling such an enterprise to 
advantage. I cannot afford to go in with a man destitute 
of executive ability no matter how much money he may 
have.' And he will very likely answer: 'Oh, yes, Mr. 
Lewis is capable of handling such an enterprise, alright. 
He is a very shrewd business man. He had made his 
money in a patent elevator,' etc. Next tackle him for a 
letter of introduction to Mr. Lewis. Whether he is in- 
timately acquainted with Mr. Lewis or not, a letter of 
introduction from a local business man would help you to 
approach Mr. Lewis with greater confidence and be re- 
ceived by him more considerately. 

"If after you have made the rounds of the real estate 
offices you fail to procure the names and addresses of men 
looking for profitable enterprises, try a few of the in- 
surance-and-loan offices and a few lawyers. If every- 
thing else fails, advertise in one or two of the most ap- 
propriate newspapers. 

''The fact that so many thousands of the hastily made 
patentless and inventionless patents are constantly ' ad- 
vertised, and that thousands of investors have swamped 
their fortunes in such patent propositions, the most busi- 
nesslike and earnest advertisement of a patent proposition 
fails to excite interest in persons looking for a profitable 
enterprise. In many it excites disgust. The advertiser 
of a patent for sale or for a partner with capital to de- 
velop an invention gets a lot of answers, but only from fake 
promoters, cunning patent attorneys and patent lawyers 
who urge the advertiser to apply for foreign patents, and 



HOW TO ADVERTISE. 185 

from the countless parasites who prey upon the guileless- 
ness of inventors. 

*ln view of these facts it is inadvisable to mention in 
your advertisement that what you have is a patent propo- 
sition. Then there are those who write for particulars to 
every advertiser in the hope of somehow getting some 
money out of somebody's pocket. To avoid all these 
parasites and to expedite matters it is therefore better 
to advertise something to this effect : ' *A non-resident 
with a highly profitable enterprise wishes to interview an 
able business man having $50,000 cash at his disposal 
with a view to securing his active co-operation. Of 
course your enterprise is not yet profitable. It promises 
to be profitable. But the word 'profitable' in place of 
'promising' will prevent the vampirical promoters and in- 
corporators from inviting you to interview them and at 
the same time make the party you are looking for beHeve 
that you have a 'going enterprise.' There is no harm in 
this insinuation. The aim and object of this substitution 
is merely to afford you an opportunity to show your 
prospectus to the right party. Business men are used to 
such little tricks. At the interview you apologize for the 
substitution and explain why you did so word your ad- 
vertisement. 

"A letter of introduction from a local business man is 
very desirable. But men of $25,000 or $50,000 capital 
are not very difficult to approach without either a letter 
of introduction or an answer to an advertisement. Do 
not leave the city until you have interviewed three or 
four prospective investors and left the three prospectuses 
with them. If the party interviewed is not interested he 
will return the prospectus you gave him to read and tell 
you that he is not in a position just now to interest him- 
self in your enterprise. If the party interviewed is in- 



186 NEGOTIATE THROUGH LAWYER. 

terested he will ask you to leave the prospectus with him 
and tell you that he will communicate with you. 

*'So soon as any one of the parties you have interviewed 
has investigated your patent and working- model and asks 
for terms, entrust the negotiation to a reliable lawyer or 
patent attorney ; co-operate with him and let him carry on 
the negotiation and close the deal. There are many bom- 
bastic lawyers and pretentious patent lawyers who know 
no more about such business than you do. But there are 
some that can handle the negotiation to great advantage to 
you. So be careful in the selection of your man." 



"The most successful knaves are as smooth as 
razors dipped in oil, and as sharp." — Colton. 



LESSON XX. 
Assignments and Contracts. 

Having told them what I thought was all they needed to 
know, I rose from my seat to go home. My nephew de- 
tained me with a convulsive "One moment, uncle, please." 
I resumed my seat and he began somewhat hesitatingly, 
as if prescient of a dissuasion. 

*'As you know I am pretty hard up just now and $100 
cash means a great deal to me. I happened to speak 
to my landlord, Mr. Grab, about my mechanical motot 
and showed him that even to sell the patent outright it 
ought to bring at least $10,000 cash. Mr. Grab went over 
my figures very carefully, then congratulated me warmly 
and heartily, wished me success, and finally he said : 'You 
have been out of work for several weeks and no doubt 
need some money. I will be glad to help you out some 
if you are not vain enough to refuse it. I don't believe 
your mechanical motor is worth quite as much as you 
say, but you have been my tenant for several years and 
so I am willing to give you $100 cash for a one-hundredth 
part interest in your patent, which is all it is worth ac- 
cording to your own calculations ; provided, of course, 
your invention is as broadly new as you think it is.' 

"I was very much surprised at his generosity, as Mr. 
Grab is a very tight-fisted man. Of course $100 is all one- 
hundredth part interest in my mechanical motor is worth, 
and Mr. Grab to pay full value was quite a surprise to me. 



188 RIGHTS OF AN ASSIGNEE. 

I was anxious to close the deal on the spot but did not 
want him to know that I was so hard up, and so I told 
him with an air of indifference that I will think it over 
and let him know tonight. There is no reason why I 
should not accept his offer, is there? I don't see what 
that old fool could do with that one-hundredth part in- 
terest in my patent." 

"Indeed, there is a very good reason why you should 
not accept his offer. As to what that old fool could do 
with that one-hundredth part interest in your patent. Well, 
Mr. Grab knows his business all right. He could grant 
licenses to every rowboat manufacturer in the country. 
He could manufacture your motor and supply the markets 
with all they can use. He could make all the money 
there is in your invention in every way he pleases. He 
is legally entitled to make all the money your patent is 
capable of yielding. He does not have to account to you 
nor share with you. If you should find a purchaser of- 
fering you $10,000 cash for your invention, Mr. Grab 
could say that his one-hundredth part interest in your 
patent is worth to him $25,000 and refuse to surrender 
his assignment. In other words, by assigning even so 
small an interest as a one-hundredth part of your patent 
you will lose control of your patent right and your as- 
signee will acquire all the rights and privileges as if 
he owned the entire patent, except the right of granting 
an exclusive license which neither of you would then 
have, and thus freeze you out of your property right en- 
tirely. 
^ "Never assign an interest in your patent. 

"If you are in urgent need of money, sell an interest 
in the proceeds resulting from the disposition or ex- 
ploitation of your patent right, not an interest in the 
patent. And try to sell such an interest to a Mr. Grab 
or any voracious money shark. The more greedy the 



EXAMPLE OF THOUGHTLESSNESS. 189 

purchaser of an interest in the proceeds of your patent 
is, the better for you. He will make the money out of 
your patent if you cannot. Of course you cannot expect 
a purchaser of an interest in the proceeds of a patent 
right to pay you all it is worth. If your patent right is 
conservatively estimated to be worth $10,000, you may 
ask $500 for a one-fourth interest in the proceeds result- 
ing from the disposition of your patent right and accept 
$300 if your negotiant refuses to pay more. 

''Never sign a contract or memorandum or note con- 
taining some allusion to your patent without having the 
same carefully read by a lawyer or patent attorney. Many 
unhappy inventors got themselves unwittingly into trouble. 
To demonstrate how easily a thoughtless inventor can get 
himself into trouble, a guileless countryman sent by his 
little girl a simple little note to his grocery man, written 
on a piece of manila paper with a pencil and worded 
something like this : 

" 'Dear Mr. Sam Smith — I am in urgent need of some money, 
and so for the loan of $25 I will give you one-fourth interest 
in my patent on a wagon jack which was printed on January 
10, 1910. Give the check to my little girl, and please be sure 
to wrap it up in a large sheet of paper or large envelope so 
she won't lose it. Also give her a bag of salt, a pound of 
sugar and a can of baked beans. My wife will pay for these 
things on Saturday. And don't you know, Mr. Smith, my horse 
broke a leg, my cow broke a horn, my pig broke his pen [and 
whatever other interesting news he may have communicated in 
that missive]. 

" 'Yours truly, 

" 'John Jones.' 

"A very innocent looking note, isn't it ? It contains no 
serial number of the patent, none of the customary where- 
ases, nor the apparently essential clauses of 'I, the said 
John Jones, have sold, assigned, and transferred, and by 
these presents do sell, assign, an^l transfer unto the said 



190 INSTRUMENTS AFFECTING TITLE. 

Sam Smith, the undivided one-fourth part of the whole 
right, title, and interest in and to the said invention,' etc. 
Still, it is a valid assignment of — or rather a valid ob- 
ligation to assign — a one-fourth interest in John Jones' 
patent on wagon jack for a valuable consideration. 

"A few weeks later John Jones called on Sam Smith and 
returned the loan of $25 with due expressions of gratitude 
for the accommodation, and good-naturedly remarked that 
he was only 'kidden,' as he would not take $2,500 for a 
one-fourth interest in his patent. Sam Smith pretended 
to be busy at the time and made no answer. Jones, of 
course, thought or knew it was all right, or perhaps 
neither thought nor knew. He did know that he was 
'kidden.' A few months later a certain party agreed to 
pay Jones $10,000 for his patent. Jones was anxiously 
awaiting the cash, but instead he received a letter from 
that party accusing him of concealing the fact that he 
had already sold a one-fourth interest in his patent, and 
concluded : 'Since the one-fourth interest was sold for 
such a small consideration, the whole patent must be 
worth little or nothing.' 

"You see, a business man has no such keen sense of 
humor as some of the young or improvident inventors. 
Sam Smith sent Jones' note to a patent attorney and the 
latter had the first sentence on that manila-paper note 
duly recorded in the Patent Office. Any instrument in 
writing, no matter how it is worded or whatever else it 
contains, if it contains a clause which technically amounts 
to an assignment, a grant, a mortgage, a lien, an incum- 
brance, a license, or anything which affects the title of 
the patent or the invention to which it relates, and is 
sufficiently clear to identify the same, can be recorded in 
the Patent Office; and Jones' note affected the title of 
his patent. 



MORTGAGE ON PATENT. 191 

"If you assign an interest in the proceeds resulting from 
the disposition of your patent, if the instrument is properly 
drawn, the purchaser becomes a partner to the profits, 
not to the patent. Of course he can, and should, have your 
signature attested by witnesses and certified to by a notary 
public, but he cannot have it recorded in the Patent Office. 
Not being recorded in the libers in the Patent Office, the 
investigator will never know about that transaction and 
the purchase price of that interest. If the purchaser of 
the interest in the proceeds of your patent should insist, 
and he always will insist, you may secure his interest by 
a mortgage on the patent for, say, three times the amount 
he paid for that interest. He will have the mortgage re- 
corded in the Patent Office. But a mortgage on a patent, 
like a mortgage on real estate, does not depreciate the 
value of your patent nor in any way interfere with the 
disposition of the patent. Before the purchaser of your 
patent will pay the money he will demand that the mort- 
gage be formally released. 

"Patents are often mortgaged the same as any other 
property right; that is, the mortgage simply secures the 
payment of a loan on notes bearing interest." 



**He knows the compass, sail, and oar 
Or never launches from the shore ; 
Before he builds computes the cost. 
And in no proud pursuit is lost." 



—Gay. 



LESSON XXL 
How to Build Working Models Economically. 

"One more topic, uncle, please, and then we will be in 
a position to go out and shift for ourselves. I have heard 
at one time the term 'working model' applied to a minia- 
ture representation of a machine and at another to a 
full size working machine. Please tell us something about 
the working model, and particularly what are we to do 
when the cost of the working model is much greater th«' i 
what we can afford." 

-^ "Simple things such as the adjustable cooking utensil 
support, the latch lock, or the thousands of simple things 
patented annually, can be disposed of without a model. 
The construction and operation of such things can be seen 
from the blue-prints as clearly as if one held the thing in 
his hands. But inventions enunciating new and unknown 
principles, or containing mechanisms of intricate construc- 
tion, or are designed to perform problematical functions, 
cannot be disposed of profitably without a practical demon- 
stration. 

"The production of a working model is a costly and 
most perplexing undertaking. Thousands of inventors 
have lost some highly promising inventions because of 
their inability to meet the cost of a working model, and 
thousands of others have sunk small fortunes in experi- 



KNOW THE OBJECTS OF YOUR INVENTION. 193 

mental work and unnecessarily lost both the money and 
the invention by being unable to carry out the model. 

''Lack of knowledge is at the bottom of every loss. 

**With a little intelligent effort any inventor who knows 
he has a promising invention and that the same is covered 
by sufficient claims to hold on to it can readily procure the 
co-operation of a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance to ad- 
vance the capital necessary to build a working model of 
his invention for a share in the proceeds that will result 
from the disposition or exploitation of his patent right. 
But unless the inventor is able to prove his claims, his 
closest friend will turn a deaf ear to his request for finan- 
cial assistance. 

"If you have a promising invention and no money to 
build a working model with, instruct your patent attorney 
to send you a copy of the specifications and claims and 
a set of blue prints [preferably photo-prints] of the draw- 
imzs in your case so soon as the principal claims have been 
allowed, and not to let the application go to allowance 
until notified by you. Study the copy of the specification 
thoughtfully and commit to memory the objects of the 
invention, which, if the application is prepared by a clever 
attorney, you will find are quite different from those given 
by you in the letter you sent with the sketch. 

"The objects of the invention in a well made patent de- 
fine clearly, but generically, the principal new features 
in your machine, and these are the salient points to dwell 
upon on presenting your proposition to the prospective 
investor. Show him the references submitted by your 
attorney after the preliminary examination and point out 
the features of superiority in your machine in respect of 
those shown in the references. If there is appreciable 
merit in your invention you will have no trouble to pro- 
cure financial assistance. 

13 



194 WHEN A WORKING MODEL IS NEEDED. 

"It is rarely the case that a miniature model is suffi- 
cient to satisfy large investors where the model is needed 
to demonstrate the efficiency of the machine. In most 
cases a miniature model would be perfectly useless. The 
drawing of the log-sawing machine of our example, for 
instance, shows the operativeness of the machine as clearly 
and unmistakably as the most perfect miniature working 
model would, but it does not show that with this machine 
one man could cut a knotty log in two in one-half of the 
time it would take two men to do it with an ordinary 
cross-cut saw. Neither would a miniature model demon- 
strate this or the efficiency of any machine. It is obvious 
that where demonstration is needed a miniature model 
will not take the place of a full size working machine. 
Many inventors waste enormous sums of money and much 
valuable time on miniature models which when completed 
have to be consigned to the junk pile, as they fail to show 
what the investor wants to see.'* 

"How does the inventor know that his machine will 
work satisfactorily without a practical demonstration?" 
inquired Joseph Sharp. 

"The inventor works by analogy. For instance, we 
know that the log-sawing machine will do just what we 
claim for it, because, as your sister told us, without a fly 
wheel it is impossible to cut hay with a rotary feed cutter. 
From this we know that a heavy fly wheel will supply the 
necessary power to cut the log with ease and rapidity. The 
investor may see this just as clearly as we do, but an over- 
cautious man would demand a demonstration. 

"Many highly promising inventions that were perfectly 
operative and commercially practicable were lost to their 
inventors just because they were not worked out mechani- 
cally and the inventors and their backers exhausted their 
financial resources before the machines were completed. 
Remember therefore that if you are ever tempted to start 



* 



EXAMINE THE SHOP EQUIPMENT. 195 

building a working model without having your invention 
first reduced to a working drawing, you will exhaust your 
monetary resources and have nothing but a pile of junk 
for your money. 

"Work your invention out yourself as much as possible 
then place your sketches in the hands of a skillful machine 
designer for him to elaborate it and to reduce your ma- 
chine to detailed working drawings. A set of detailed 
working drawings of a machine may cost one or two 
hundred dollars, but a set of drawings made by a practi- 
cal factory draftsman will save you several times their 
cost in money and time. 

"If you will ask a machinist to build your machine on 
a contract, that is, for a predetermined sum, if he will 
consider it at all, he will figure out as nearly as he can 
the time it would take him to build the machine and the 
cost of the materials and then multiply the grand total 
by two, and the result will be the figure he will ask for 
the machine. It will therefore be cheaper for you to pay 
for his work on your machine by the hour. 

"But before you place your working drawings in the 
hands of any machinist, examine carefully his shop equip- 
ment. If your machine requires fine lathe work see that 
he has a lathe fine enough to do it. If he will have to do it 
on a large, rickety lathe, it may take him twice as long 
to do the job and you will have to pay for that extra 
time. If your machine requires accurate milling, see 
whether his milling machine is in good order ; if not, have 
him adjust his machine before he starts on your job, else 
the time he will spend in adjusting his machine or con- 
trolling the back lash while he is doing your work will be 
charged up to you. See whether he has the right kinds 
and sizes of cutters. If not, let him get them or mak^ 
them before he starts on your job. See whether he has 
the right sizes of materials on hand. Cold-rolled machine 



196 FINISH WORK AFTER TEST. 

steel can now be had in all sizes imaginable and straight 
and true to the one-thousandth part of an inch. But 
machinists cannot carry all the sizes in stock. If your 
z- machine needs a piece of steel, say 2 inches by one-quar- 
ter inch and the machinists has 2 1-2 inches by one-half 
inch size, he will tell you : 'Oh, that's nothing. I can 
easily mill it or shape it down to size.' So he can. But 
it will take him about two hours to do it and you will have 
to pay $1.50 for that time. So see that he gets all the 
sizes of material your machine will need before he starts 
on the job. 

"These little things are always neglected by young and 
inexperienced inventors. But on a long job these avoida- 
ble charges may amount to nearly half of the bill. 

"If your machine is composed of several similar sec- 
1;ions it is well to make only one section and test it thor- 
oughly before you make the others. It is true that the 
machine tools will have to be reset for every part in that 
one section and this will entail some useless expense. But 
upon testing the first section some changes may become 
desirable, and if all the sections are finished they will 
all have to be thrown away and others made in accordance 
with the new idea. 

"Instruct your machinist not to spend any time on 
polishing and finishing the parts of the machine until the 
^ machine is assembled and tested, as some of the parts 
may have to be refitted or done over." 

As the tyros rose and the young lady began to dress, 
the expressman brought in a small box. I opened it and 
found it contained a miniature model of a force pump 
and a letter with a money order. After reading the let- 
ter I handed it to my nephew, and he read : 



A USELESS EXPENDITURE. 197 

" 'deer Ser, me send yu mit dis a moddell from me f us pomp 
und a monee order to 30 Dollars for to mak me a pattentt 
from dis envenshmi. me cood no mak a draftin so me had 
to Git a moddell mad, plees tak gut cair from dis moddell as 
it cost me 75 dollas. plees Dont let noboddi sie dis moddell 
und steel my envenshun. send me de papiers from me pattentt 
to sine as Soon as possible.' " 

My nephew was very much amused by the orthography 
and phraseology of the letter and handed it over to 
his sweetheart to read for her amusement. I looked at 
him sharply. He understood that I did not give him 
the letter to read for his amusement and looked at me in- 
quiringly. 

"Do you understand this letter," I asked him. "It 
contains a lesson of more or less importance to a young 
inventor." 

"Why, yes. I understand every word of it. But I 
would like to see the model. The letter itself seems to 
contain nothing of importance," he answered, somewhat 
abashed by my accusing him of levity. 

"That's just where the lesson comes in. The letter 
contains nothing of importance, except the fact that the 
poor fellow spent $75 to show me something that does 
not show at all. I cannot show you the miodel. As a 
matter of policy I never disclose a client's invention or 
communication. I have taken the liberty of showing you 
this letter in order to point out certain costly mistakes 
the uninformed inventor often makes. The model is not 
a working model. It is a solid chunk of iron shaped so 
as look like a force pump. The invention obviously re- 
sides in two pieces of capped and valved pipes which ex- 
tend laterally from the air chamber of the pump. But 
what the pipes are for, the inventor does not say. I do 
have some vague idea of what he wants to accomplish by 
means of these two additional air chambers. But I could 
not proceed with the preparation of the specification and 



198 FREE-HAND SKETCH WILL DO. 

claims without knowing definitely the principal object of 
his invention and whether it is absolutely necessary that 
the valves in the two pieces of pipes shall be ball valves, 
as they are in the model, or that any well known form of 
valve would do. I will have to write to him and get him 
to give me some detail description of the thing. 

"The inventor says he could not make a drawing of the 
pump so he spent $75 to show me a chunk of iron with 
two pieces of pipe. When one invents something he has 
a very clear picture of the thing in his mind. With the 
picture of the thing before his mind's eye, is there any 
reason why any inventor, whatever his education, should 
not be able to reproduce that picture on paper ? The fact 
is that the uninformed inventor thinks that in order to 
convey his ideas to the patent attorney the drawing m.ust 
be made artistically and finished like the official drawings 
in a patent application. Why, a free-hand pencil sketch 
showing the thing he invented exactly as he sees it with 
his mind's eye, however crooked the lines may be, and 
however dilapidated the view may be, would convey 
his ideas just as clearly as if the drawings had been made 
by an artist. 

"The force pump inventor could have easily cut out an 
illustration of a force pump from a catalogue and sketched 
in the two pieces of pipe with the valves, and if he had 
only stated in his letter, in his own way, what he means 
to accomplish by means of these two pipes, he would have 
saved himself the cost of the model. A pencil sketch and 
a detailed description of what the inventor wants to ac- 
complish is all a patent attorney needs to a clear compre- 
hension of the invention submitted. 

"Now, my dear children, I can think of nothing to add 
to what I have already told you, except that after you 
have elaborated the mechanisms of the invention to the 
highest degree possible, finish your sketches, put them 



TEST OF CONSUMMATION. 199 

away, and throw that particular construction of the me- 
chanisms off your mind entirely. The next day start in 
anew to invent mechanism of different construction for 
accomplishing the same object of invention on an entirely 
different principle, if possible, as in the case of the cook- 
ing utensil support. 

''If after working at it earnestly for several hours in 
succession you are unable to conceive a new principle for 
accomplishing the same object of your invention, then 
your invention is as good as it can be made. More often, 
however, you will by this means discover that one or two 
of the sub- functions in your machine can be accomplished 
by different means. Make a new sketch of the machine 
with the sub-functions accomplished by the new means 
and submit both sketches — with only one fee — to your 
patent attorney for preliminary examination. If at the 
examination neither of the two ways is found to be 
seriously anticipated, decide which is the better of the 
two ways of accomplishing the same object and tell it to 
your attorney. The latter will describe the machine with 
the better means as the preferred form of embodiment of 
the invention and the other as a modification, and cover 
both forms under generic claims." 



"As the ancients say wisely, 

Have a care o' th' main chance, 
And look before you ere you leap, 
For as you sow y' are like to reap." 

— Butler. 

LESSON XXII. 

The Fourth Essential of a 
Commercially Valuable Invention. 

At the conclusion of the last lesson I gave the tyros to 
understand that that was all I had to tell them about the 
business of inventing, and that my self-imposed duty was 
finished. I ordered Miss Sharp to transcribe the steno- 
graphic notes she had taken of the lessons and to give a 
copy to each of the young men. I had defined only 
three of the four essentials of a commercially valuable 
invention, but have taken ample pains to inculcate the 
importance of employing a skillful patent attorney to 
make their patents. And as the making of the patent 
must be left to the skill and integrity of the patent at- 
torney, an exposition on the constituency of a commer- 
cially-acceptable patent seemed superfluous. But the 
tyros had learned enough of the importance of the com- 
mercially-acceptable patent to hanker after more. 

Joseph, as usual, called every evening, and my nephew 
every other evening. Several days had elapsed and then 
the tyros, as if determined to make a formal demand 
upon me, came over to my desk and took seats without 
ado. 

"You forgot to tell us about the fourth leg of a com- 
mercially valuable invention — the commercially-accepta- 



UNSALABLE PATENT USELESS TO INVENTOR. 201 

ble patent," broached my nephew. "We have discussed 
every important subject of the lessons and find that we 
know nothing of the fourth leg of a commercially valua- 
ble invention. Lillian [Miss Sharp] says that the legally- 
valid patent is the commercially-acceptable patent. For 
what more could the purchaser of, or investor in, a patent 
right ask than a legally-valid patent. But while her argu- 
ment sounds logical enough, I cannot persuade myself 
to believe that if the legally-valid and the commercially- 
acceptable patent were one and the same thing you would 
have given the different designations. Please, uncle, 
dear, tell us the difference, if there is any, between a 
legally-valid and a commercially-acceptable patent, that 
we may have a clear understanding of the requirement 
of a commercially-acceptable patent. For unless our pat- 
ents will be acceptable to prospective purchasers or in- 
vestors, they will be utterly useless to us. We are deter- 
mined to make every possible effort in our power to win 
fortune by inventing. But if by reason of lack of know- 
ing what to demand we should fall into the hands of in- 
competent attorneys and become owners of commercially- 
unacceptable patents, our most constrained efforts to pro- 
duce commercially valuable inventions would result in 
harrowing tantalization and a useless waste of time and 
money." 

The last sentence is something I have never heard be- 
fore from the lips of a young inventor. The young in- 
ventor, and many a veteran, too, fails to appreciate the 
fact that unless his patent is commercially-acceptable it 
is of no earthly use whatever — and many are the inventors 
who assassinate their most promising inventions with 
their own hands. They procure the Rule of Practice and 
botch up their own patents. Any intelligent person can 
read up on the rules and follow the forms and make a 
patent — a fool patent — or there would not be so many 



202 PATENTS ARE SERIOUS MATTERS. 

thousands of bogus experts and specialists in the patent 
soliciting business. ^ 

The paramount function of the Patent Office examiners 
is to safeguard the interest of the public, by seeing to it 
that the inventor does not get more of a monojX)ly than 
he is legally entitled to. However reserved and reluctant 
a patent examiner may be, he must allow the broadest 
claims the inventor or his attorney is capable of drawing 
in view of the state of the art. But the law accords the 
inventor the privilege to draw his claims as narrow as he 
wants to, and most of the inventors who make their 
own patents unwittingly avail themselves freely of this 
privilege. 

It takes considerable experience and a fair grasp of the 
spirit of both the patent laws and the judicial decisions 
interpreting the laws to be able to tell a commercially- 
unacceptable patent from a commercially-acceptable pat- 
ent, let alone the making of a commercially-acceptable 
patent. Hence, to the inventor and to the short-sighted 
attorney all patents are "patents that protect." 

Patents are serious matters. But it is extremely diffi- 
cult to make the young inventor take the patent seriously. 
Inventing is indeed the only available means by which an 
ambitious wage earner may raise himself above his class 
and attain not only financial independence, but even fame 
and fortune. But without a commercially-acceptable pat- 
ent the most promising invention is valueless. The 
determination of the tyros to make every possible effort to 
produce none but commercially valuable inventions, which 
of course includes commercially-acceptable patents, 
pleased me immensely. But I know the fickleness of young 
inventors, and Joseph Sharp in particular, claimed my 
attention. I knew he will sooner or later relax in his 
vigilance, be attracted by some specious advertisement 
or sophistical Inventor's Guide, and fall into one of the 



DIFFERENCE IN QUANTITY. 203 

countless snares the road to financial success by inventing 
is strewn with. With these thoughts in my mind, I con- 
cluded to expound the difference between a legally-valid 
and a commercially-acceptable patent, and began : 

"The difference between a legally-valid and a commer- 
cially-acceptable patent is a difference in quantity. The 
patent to be acceptable must of course first of all be 
legally valid. But patents that are merely legally valid 
very often have no commercial value whatever. The law 
is easily satisfied, the improvident inventor still easier, 
but the man who is asked to part with his cash not so 
easy. He has a rigid law of his own. 

''In the exposition on the third essential of a commer- 
cially valuable invention I have told you of the require- 
ments of a legally-valid patent in the precise language of 
the law on patents. But laws are one thing and judicial 
decisions, which interpret the laws, quite another. Our 
country is governed by laws not as made by the legislative 
bodies, but as interpreted by the judicial tribunals. The 
judicial tribunals have interpreted the law I quoted you to 
mean that a patent to be valid does not have to claim every 
part, improvement, and combination of the invention de- 
scribed in the specification, but that any part, improve- 
ment, or combination of the invention described in the 
specification that is claimed must be described in the speci- 
fication with perfect perspicuity and claimed specifically 
and distinctly. Any and all the parts, improvements, or 
combinations that are not so described and claimed are 
presumed to have been wilfully abandoned by the inventor 
and become public property. 

''This means that if your invention enunciates ten 
new principles and only one of them is claimed specifically 
and distinctly [as in the case of so many of the slip-shod 
patents so much in evidence], the patent will be valid 
and secure to you the exclusive right to make, use, and 



204 A COGENT SIMILE. 

sell machines embodying that one particular new princi- 
, pie. All the other nine principles become public prop- 
^ erty, and anybody and everybody that wants to build ma- 
chines embodying some or all of the abandoned nine prin- 
ciples of your invention may do so without your consent. 

"Now suppose you had rendered the Government some 
valuable services and in recognition thereof you were told 
to have a deed to a certain ten-room house and lot pre- 
pared and presented to a certain authorized government 
official which he will duly execute, and thus in due form 
convey to you the property described in the deed. And 
suppose again that you, to save a few dollars, had employed 
some shyster lawyer or yourself drew up the deed, and 
that through lack of your lawyer's or your own skill that 
deed by its terms secured to you the exclusive right to 
occupy only one of the ten rooms instead of all the ten 
rooms. The remaining nine rooms would by the terms 
of the gift become public property. Then, so soon as 
the public found out that the remaining nine rooms 
are public property, nine of the most disagreeable 
foreign or colored families crowded themselves into the 
nine rooms and a little later, in view of your insignificant 
holding that would never pay you to enforce your deed, 
took possession of even that one room to which you hold 
exclusive right. How much would that deed be worth? 
Nothing, of course. No sane person would buy it for 
any price, notwithstanding the fact that the deed is signed 
and sealed by the Government and conveys an exclusive 
right. 

"The prospective purchaser of a ten-room house would 
not buy the property unless the deed secured to him 
the absolute possession of not only all the ten rooms in 
the house, but every inch of the ground of the lot on which 
the ten-room house stands. Similarly, no capitalist would 
invest money in an invention unless the patent covers 



PATENTS THAT PROTECT. 205 

every phase of the invention and all its future possibili- 
ties. The difference between a legally-valid patent and 
a commercially-acceptable patent is thus, metaphorically 
speaking, the difference between a deed to one of the 
rooms in a ten-toom house and a deed to all the ten 
rooms in the house. 

"Always bear in mind your objective point — financial 
success — and never be tempted to save a few dollars on 
the cost of the patent. If your invention is a public need, 
its financial success depends entirely on the comprehen- 
siveness of the patent. After the patent is issued you 
will either have a property right of intrinsic commercial 
value or just a few sheets of parchment paper, worth 
as much as a few sheets of newspapers. If you are too 
poor to afford a studiously made patent — which may or 
may not cost a few dollars more — you are too poor to 
waste your hard earned money on a good-for-nothing 
patent." 

The tyros were thoughtful. After several moments 
meditation my nephew said contemplatively: "Naturally 
enough every patent attorney claims to make the best 
patents. All advertise patents that protect. But from 
what you have told us the phrase means nothing. The 
patent protects, but it does not protect enough. Now, 
since the making of the patent is beyond our control, 
what measures could we take in the future to insure 
that our patents will cover every phase of our inventions 
and all their future possibilities. Can you furnish us 
some kind of a chart or specimen of claims by which we 
might be able to judge the sufficiency of our patents?" 

"Much as I would like to, I find myself utterly incapa- 
ble of devising any kind of a chart or specimen of claims 
which might serve as a criterion by which you could 
judge the sufficiency of your patents. Every invention is 
a law to itself. The tenor of a set of claims in one case will 



206 SPECIMEN OF A SPECIFIC CLAIM. 

not suit in another case. I can only repeat with a little 
more detail that in a commercially-acceptable patent the 
specification must describe the invention not only with 
perfect perspecuity but in comprehensive generic terms, 
and the claims must claim the invention not only specifi- 
cally and distinctly, but also generically and specifi- 
cally. In other words, the specification and claims must 
be so drawn as to cover not only the machine of your in- 
vention, but also every conceivable modification, simplifi- 
cation, reorganization, and adaptation to such other uses 
as the principles enunciated in the specification may be 
capable of. In a commercially-unacceptable patent on the 
log sawing machine of our example, for instance, the 
broadest claim would probably be worded something like 
this: 

" *In a log-sawing machine, a pair of rigidly connected 
frames suitably held a predetermined distance apart, a 
single frame held movable in the space between the said 
two frames, a ratchet-toothed rack held rigidly to one end 
of the said single frame, an arm carrying a saw held 
adjustably on the said rack, and manually operatable me- 
chanism for moving the single frame reciprocally.' 

"This is a legally-valid claim, and perhaps a much 
broader principal claim than can be found in thousands 
of patents issued annually. But the patent on the log- 
sawing machine with such a principal claim would not 
be commercially acceptable. The claim is too narrow to 
preclude others from building the same machine only a 
little dififerent, and a patent that does not exclude compe- 
tition does not confer a monopoly on its holder and there- 
fore the patent would not be salable. 

"Suppose, for example, you were the inventor of the 
log-sawing machine, and being hard up you employed a 
cheap patent attorney who furnished you a patent with 
such a principal claim. You would call on the president 



TEST OF A PATENT MONOPOLY. 207 

of the Blank Manufacturing Co. and show him that this 
invention is capable of yielding a minimum revenue of 
about $1,000,000 during the life of the patent [see page 
71] out of which you expect to make only about $250,000 
and his company could make $750,000. Mr. Blank, see- 
ing that there was a chance for his company to earn 
over $40,000 a year for seventeen years long on a small 
investment, would proceed to investigate your proposition. 
"The first thing Mr. Blank would do would be to 
place the drawings of the log-sawing machine in the 
hands of a practical mechanician and order him to devise 
as many modifications or reorganizations of this machine 
as he can. With hardly any exception, every mechanical 
organization is capable of modification, reorganization, 
and adaptation to certain other uses. So far as I can 
see at the present it is possible to make three different 
machines to operate on the same principle without in- 
fringing upon this claim. The mechanician would make 
the three different modifications and submit them to Mr. 
Blank. Next, Mr. Blank would submit the drawings 
of the three modifi-cations and a copy of your patent to an 
able patent attorney and order him to analyze the claims 
in your patent and ascertain whether any of these modifi- 
cations infringe upon the claims in your patent. The at- 
torney would report that none of the three modifications 
infringes upon your patent. Mr. Blank would then 
promptly return your papers and state in his letter that 
he is not at the present in a position to interest himself 
in your proposition. No sane manufacturer would con- 
sider a patent proposition that does not confer an abso- 
lute monopoly in the machine as a whole, and your pros- 
pects to make $350,000 out of your invention would be 
lost to you because of the savings of a few dollars in the 
cost of making the patent." 



208 MODIFICATIONS. 

N. B. — The author has devised the log-sawing machine shown 
on page 8i, as well as all the other illustrations in this book, 
except three, for the purpose of illustrating the lessons. He 
has also devised several modifications, or different constructions, 
of the log-sawing machine, none of which would infringe a 
patent with such a claim. The modifications are withheld from 
publication in this edition in order to afford those of the readers 
of this book who maj'' wish to do so an opportunity to amuse 
themselves at their leisure by inventing one or more modifica- 
tions themselves. Every young inventor who has yet to get 
his experience in machine designing is advised to try his skill 
and devise one or more of the modifications of the log-sawing 
machine out of curiosity, and incidentally be benefited by the 
exercise it will afford him. It is good practice and worth while. 
The author would greatly appreciate the privilege to inspect 
the modifications made by the reader purely for his own edifi- 
cation. The sketches will be promptly returned if requested. 
Address all communications 

CHAS. S. LABOFISH, 

Patent Attorney, 

Ralston Building^ 

Washington, D. C. 

The several modifications on the log-sawing machine devised 
by the author will appear in one of the subsequent editions of 
this book. 

The object of the modifications being to show the readers the 
importance of covering a case generically ; that is to say, to claim 
the invention in a manner as to cover every possible modifica- 
tion or reorganization and thus keep out all possible competi- 
tion. In submitting an invention to a patent attorney it is well 
to show one modification. But whether the inventor shows a 
modification or not the good attorney will cover every modifica- 
tion possible by means of generic claims. 

A modification or a reorganization of a given machine, de- 
vice or apparatus means an embodiment of the principles in- 
volved in that machine, device or apparatus in a different way. 
As an example, one of the modifications possible on the log- 
sawing machine is to make the single frame stationary and the 
double frame to ride upon the upper edge of the single frame. 
Any broad departure from the principles of the log-sawing 
machine would not be a modification, but an invention patentable 
over the best patent that can be made on the log-sawing machine. 
And this is true of every invention. Every invention, however 
original or broadly new it may be, is limited to the particular 
principles of construction and operation enunciated in the specifi- 
cation, and if properly claimed the patent covers all kinds of 
modifications and reorganizations and substitution of equivalent 
elements. 



SPECIMEN OF A GENERIC CLAIM. 1209 

"In a well made patent the principal claim on the 
log-sawing machine would read something like this: 

" 'In a log-sawing machine, a member held movable 
reciprocally, mechanism for moving the said member re- 
ciprocally, an operating tool carried by the said member, 
and means for effecting progressive movements of the 
said tool in alternate succession with the reciprocal move- 
ments of the said member.' 

"This is what is technically termed a "generic" claim. 
A claim thus formulated secures to the inventor the 
exclusive right to every possible modification, reorgan- 
ization, simplification, and adaptation of the principles 
defined in the specification to to other uses. The patent 
on the log-sawing machine with such a claim would in 
consequence be a commercially acceptable patent. 

"The ultimate fate of the inventor is largely dependent 
upon the skill and sagacity of his patent attorney. Gen- 
era exists not only in broadly new mechanical organiza- 
tions, but even in limited improvements on machines 
or things already embodied in various forms. It re- 
quires considerable skill and power of penetration to 
discern the germs of inherent genera in a mere im- 
provement on a machine of which there are several modi- 
fications in use or on record. But if the patent is to be 
commercially acceptable it must be done, and the only 
person to do it is a really skillful and thoroughly com- 
petent patent attorney. Besides descrying the genera 
and formulating the principal claim, it requires consider- 
able skill to carry out the entire case so as to insure 
the tenability of the patent. 

"In a commercially-acceptable patent the principal, or 
the broadest, claim is followed by a number of senten- 
tious, comprehensive generic and specific claims gradually 
diminishing in scope and breadth until the exculsive rights 



210 GENERIC AND SPECIFIC CLAIMS. 

to every new principle, part, and combination is properly 
secured to the inventor. The specific claims alone are of 
no great commercial value, unless the machine is of 
such a nature that every one of its component parts and 
the manner in which they are arranged and actuated 
are absolutely essential to the working of the machine. 
This, however, is very seldom, if ever, the case. Every 
machine which at the time of its invention seems positively 
unchangeable will sooner or later be changed by the in- 
ventor himself or others. And quite frequently machines 
are changed beyond recognition by their originators. By 
means of comprehensive generic claims, and a generically 
detailed specification, a practical patent attorney endowed 
with large powers of conception and an analytical mind 
can secure to the inventor the exclusive right to every 
conceivable reorganization, simplification, modification, 
and adaptation of the principles of construction and opera- 
tion of the machine, as well as to the essential elements 
thereof. 

"The commercially-acceptable patent must have both 
generic and specific claims, as the generic claims are 
subject to attack, and no one can be assured that if 
attacked some of them would not succumb to the attack. 
It is therefore imperatively essential that the patent shall 
contain a graded series of both generic and specific claims 
so that should some of the generic claims fall, what is left 
of them will be supported by the specific claims." 

My nephew, his bride and her brother, boundlessly 
enraptured with expectation to win fortune by inventing, 
shook my hand warmly and thanked me heartily. "Well, 
uncle, dear," William exclaimed gleefully, "we are now 
thoroughly convinced that an invention, however simple 
it might be, if it comprehends all the four essentials you 
have elucidated, must, in the nature of events, yield 
fortune. And now that we have learned how to invent 
elaborately and methodically, we will make a dash for 
fortune." 



INDEX 

Page. 

Adaptation, the law on 126 

Advertise, how to 185 

Advertisements, specious , 148 

Aggregation, not patentable. . • . . ■ 103, 123 

Analysis of projected invention 71 

A patent worse than useless tj 

Apparatus, principle of, not patentable 2i^ 

Appearance, elegancy of, important 175 

Application for patent 145 

Article of commerce 34 

Article of manufacture .39, 127 

Arts, how advanced 38 

Attorney, inventor must depend on. . . . / 36, 200, 210 

Attorneys, hasty 97, 158 

Assignment deprives of control 188 

Blunders, many being made by inventors.. 36, 97, 148, 151, 

159, 169, 189 

Business policies of patent attorneys 148, 150 

Carelessness, effects of 159 

Change in dimensions not patentable 39 

" structure patentable 39 

Chemical composition 40, 127 

Claims, skill in preparation of 'jy 

" specimen of .206, 209 

Combinations, patentable and unpatentable 103, 123 

Compound lever 56 

Configurations , _^ 40, 127 

Confused distribution of elements 66 

Copies of prior patents 152, 153, 155, 157 

Cost of manufacture 82 

Criterion of limit of invention 39 

Criticising elements ^2^ 82 

Criticism to be sought after 100 

Crude model desirable 64 

Crudities may be eliminated after patent 'jj 

Deed and patent, analogy of 144, 158 

Demonstration of observation 43, 117 

Description of invention 145 

Designing no part of inventing 65, 75 

Design patents 103, 128 



212 Index. 

Page. 

Determination 67, 202 

Difference between mental faculties 38 

" " patents 204 

Diligence, importance of 76 

Disappointments, causes of 34, 142, 207 

Discovery of gas or mineral not patentable 37 

Eccentric, action of 72 

Elaboration not invention 94 

Electricity, cardinal principles of 131 

Electro mechanical devices 134 

Elements, criticising the 72, 82 

Errors in construction ruinous 79 

Essentials of successful invention 35 

Exclusive use of invention 206, 210 

Exercise of inventive faculty 39 

Fate of inventor depends upon skill of attorney 210 

Faulty performer of function 46, 59 

Financial assistance, how to obtain 193 

" brokers to be shunned 182 

Fly wheel, function of 74 

Foolish inventions 42, 97, iii, 166 

Fool patents 77> 97, 202 

Forfeiture of application 79 

Freak, every invention a 140 

Free search 148, 150, 156, 167 

Full disclosure of invention. . . . V 145 

Gears, names and uses of 107 

Generic claim 209 

" invention 159 

Gist of patent law on invention 39 

" patent law on patent 203 

Good-for-nothing patents T], 159, 206 

Grant of patent conditional 144 

Haste, results of 158 

How breadth of patent is tested . . 207 

" many legs has a horse .? 34 

" much to ask for an invention 177 

*' to advertise for investors 185 

" to interest a manufacturer 172 

" to trace effects to causes 46 

Improvements advance the arts 38 

Inoperativeness invalidates patent 79 

Inventing, what is 37 

" a freak of the human mind 140 

" by reconstruction 40 

" intangible product 144 

" legality of 40 



Index. 213 

Page. 

Invention, not dependent on mechanical skill 49 

" not tenable without patent 100, 144 

" the commercially valuable 35, 210 

Inventions, kind of, to make 120 to 127 

Inventor may avail himself of suggestions 75 

" must be alert 68 

" " find need or want 42 

" " gather knowledge 50 

" " observe things 105 

Joint inventors 99 

Judicious management • . . 83 

Judgement, errors of 139 

Judgment, mechanical 39 

Kinds of levers 54 

" " products 143 

Knack of practical inventing 67 

Law on adaption 126 

" assistance and priority 75 

Lever, principles of , 52 

Lever, compound • . . • 56 

Levers, rotary ^. . 60 

Leverage of oars 162 

Lines of inventions 120-127 

Machine, principle of, not patentable 37 

Mode of operation lends patentability 40 

Monopoly, patent 144, 209 

Mechanical movements 50, 71, 74 

Model not required by law 76 

" crude, desirable 64, 76 

Meaning of the term "combination" 103 

Modification, meaning of 208 

Modifications patentable 97, 98 

Mortgage on patent 144, 191 

New machine created by improvement 38 

New mode of operation lends patentability 40 

Non-invention 34 

Objective point of inventor 42, 205 

Observation '. 44, 67, 116, 118 

Patented inventions, small and simple 40 

Patent, what is a • 143 

" like deed 144, 158, 204 

" making easy job for fools 202 

" the hastily make kind 158, 206 

Patents for designs 103, 128 

Problematical inventions 11 1 

Priority 76 

Practical inventing a knack. 59 






214 Index. 

T-, - Page. 

Professional skill 'j'j, 209, 210 

Processes, different kinds of 2t7 

Prospectus essential 183 

Quantity in patents 203 

Range of royanties paid 178 

Reducing inventions to practice 75 

Reduction to practice, constructive 78 

Renewal of application 79 

References on record 152, 153, 155, 157 

Rights acquired by assignee 188 

Rule for inventors' guidance 44 

" of law 75, 126 

Sketches, free hand, sufficient 198 

Shop license plan • . . . • 180 

Specification, skill in the preparation of 'jy 

Specimen of generic claim 209 

" " specific claim 206 

Suggestions to be invited 100 

Tenability of patent how insured 210 

Test of consummation of invention. 199 

" monopoly conferred by patent . , 207 

Title of patent, what affects 190 

Tracing effects to causes 58, 59, 67 

Tricks not patentable \ yj 

Time to sell a patent right 170 

Two important provisions in license. 180 

Useful arts how advanced 37 

Useless expenditures 197, 202 

Volunteering suggestions not proper 89 

When a working model is needed 194 

Why simple invention is patentable 39 

Where to look for prospective investors 184 



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